


Tom & Kate

by DarlingReigns



Category: British Actor RPF, Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: Breakups, F/M, Friendship, London, Makeups, Realizations, Romance, relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-29
Updated: 2016-12-03
Packaged: 2018-09-06 03:20:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8732773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarlingReigns/pseuds/DarlingReigns
Summary: Tom and Kate have been best friends all their lives. Until a new love interest caused him to push her away. Now he's returned to London and he's determined to win her back. But while trying to repair their friendship, soon the realization that their feelings might run a bit deeper has both parties unsure of their next step.





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Katey, come on. It's been MONTHS. Just come. Talk to him."  
The usually bubbly brunette pursed her red painted lips together tightly and shook her head. "I don't know, Nikolas."  
"Come on! He hasn't even been with her for months now," her bleached blonde dinner partner exclaimed, a half smoked cigarette hanging between his slender fingers. "Kate, he misses you, and I know, whether you're willing to admit it or not, that you miss him."  
"If he misses me so damned much, why haven't we spoken in...oh I don't know, four months?" Kate Lancaster retorted. Her words had a bit of a bite to them. A bite that wasn't nearly as severe as the emotions it stemmed from. She took a breath and cleared her throat, trying to collect herself before there was an unpleasant scene in the tiny bistro. She wasn't much of one for public crying anyway. "Look, Nik, I've known Tom as long as I can remember. We grew up together...hell, we've done everything together, but...he's changed. He's not the man I thought he was and...I'm not sure I can just let that go."  
Nikolas stamped out the rest of his cigarette and heaved a heavy sigh. "That's not true. He's still Tom."  
"He isn't, though, Nik. The Thomas I know would've never behaved the way he did. And he certainly wouldn't have cut off his supposed best friend of thirty some years, over a fling with some Pop Tart."  
"Pop Tart," Nik said with a laugh. "That's a good one. Though, maybe a bit insulting to the glorious toaster pastry."  
Kate snickered. "Trust me, I've called her much, MUCH worse things in my head." There was a moment of silence. She hated talking about her and Tom's falling out. Four months later it was still like a fresh gapping wound with salt being poured into it. "I just...I don't understand. What did he even see in her? She's not remotely the girl he typically goes for and he certainly didn't behave like the man I've known him to be. He's always been so private and this time I couldn't walk by a newsstand without seeing his face on something. It was...disgusting."  
"I agree and I think now that it's ended, he does too," Nik said with a nod. "I just...I think he just got caught up in all of the hullabaloo. I've talked to him numerous times since it ended and...he truly does sound like himself again. Save for the bit of embarrassment I think he's feeling."  
Kate scoffed. "I'd be embarrassed too," she said with a light chuckle as she went back to the cocktail in front of her.  
Nikolas smiled and reached across the table, resting his hand atop hers. "Promise me you'll at least think about it. It would mean a lot to me...and to Tom."  
Kate sighed. "I don't know, Nik. I have like four meetings tomorrow..."  
"Katey, come on. It's nearly Christmas. Get a bit in the giving spirit, eh?"  
Kate rolled her eyes. "You are such an arse."  
"I am not!"  
"I cannot believe you are trying to guilt me into this."  
"That's not what I'm doing," Nik argued with a chuckle.  
"It is so!"  
"Well is it working?"  
Kate growled a bit. "Fine, ok? I'll THINK about it. But I am making no promises. The meetings are more than enough to ruin my mood, we may not want to add to it."  
"I will take think about it."  
"Good. Now for the love of bloody Christ can we please talk about something else? I'm losing my buzz here and that won't end well."  
"Alright. Let's get another round."  
"Good idea." 

It was well passed nightfall by the time he finally arrived back at his London apartment, finally back home. Nearly six months had passed and that time had been filmed with shooting two different movies, a press tour, countless interviews and parties and events, and cavorting around various continents with his now ex girlfriend. But now he was home, and Tom Hiddleston could not be happier about it.  
He tossed his backpack onto the sofa and leaned his guitar case along its side. The rest of his luggage had been delivered earlier and upon scanning the room with his icy blue eyes, everything seemed to be present. But he'd unpack later. He hadn't the energy for it at the present moment.  
Tom made his way into the kitchen. Considering his long absence, food was out of the question, but after seventeen hours of travel, a nice cup of tea would do the man wonders.  
He brought his piping hot cup of Earl Grey into his bedroom. Without so much as removing his hooded sweatshirt, he flopped down on top of the covers and pulled out his mobile. After a customary "I have returned" phone call to his mother, he began scrolling through various things. Pictures, text messages, videos; some he deleted, some he kept, all he barely glanced at. He barely even paused. That is, until he arrived on a snippet from the previous New Year's. It had been a raucous party: flashing lights, loud music, and drinks. Oh so very many drinks. But what caught his eye the most was the radiant girl next to him. A radiant girl that he hadn't spoken to in months. His Kate.  
Tom and Kate had been friends from birth. Their parents were neighbors and they were often forced into play dates. But what once had been forced, blossomed into a deep friendship. They attended primary school together and once they separated in to private secondary schools they made sure to spend breaks at each other's sides. There were parties and trips and then university. They attended together, graduated together and set off on fulfilling their dreams together: Tom as an actor and Kate as a singer. They were inseparable every step of the way. Kate being his constant encouragement, a voice of reason when he got disenchanted or distracted, and the best rehearsal buddy a lad could ask for and he the same for her. But as Tom's career began to take off, Kate's remained stagnant. Tom went on to immense fame, on both stage and screen, while Kate settled into her career pushing papers at some office she couldn't care less about. But their relationship, their bond never changed. Even when he left to live in Los Angeles for a bit. Even through failed relationships, a near wedding for her, deaths and births and whatever else life could throw at them, they always had one another. Until she came along.  
They'd met at a party. Photos quickly flooded the internet and their relationship began just as fast. It was a whirlwind of trips, family meetings and parties, all very much in the public eye. Kate had instantly and continuously voiced her concern. Tom's new love had made quite the reputation for herself with numerous very public relationships and even more public breakups. Kate was worried about her friend, who seemed to be changing right before her eyes and though she made her feelings quite known, they fell on deaf ears. Eventually Tom had a choice before him: listen to his best friend or stay with the woman he thought, for even a brief moment, would be there forever. Now, laying there in the dark, with neither one of them to talk to, he truly realized he had made the wrong decision.  
Tom opened a new text, typing Kate's name into the recipient section. And then he just stared at it. He stared at the bright, blank screen for what seemed like eons. Despite the millions of things he wanted to say, he had no idea where to start. So instead, with a sigh, he closed the unused message and shut down his phone. Maybe sleep first would be better. 

The next night was his party. Well not really his. He hadn't seemed to have much choice in whether it happened or not, but Nik had gone to a lot of trouble and he didn't want to seem ungrateful, so he went.  
There were so many people crammed into his favorite pub, all gathered to welcome one of England's favorite sons back to his homeland. There were faces he had missed a lot, some he barely knew, some he didn't even recognize, but not the one single face he had hoped to see. He wasn't surprised, but regardless, he was a bit crushed.  
"Tommy!"  
Tom knew the voice instantly and a beaming grin spread across his chiseled face. "Niky!" he exclaimed as the man's arms wrapped around his shoulders. "Ah, it's good to see you, mate."  
"Welcome home, chap!" Nik grinned. "God you look good! Life swinging your way, eh?"  
"I'm doing alright," Tom said with a nod. "I'm doing aaaaalright." His eyes again began scanning the crowd that had gathered. "Quite a group you threw together here."  
"You know me. Any excuse to throw a party," Nik responded. He could tell that Tom, however was not being casual. He was looking for someone in particular. "I invited her, Tom. She said she'd think about it."  
"What? Oh," Tom sighed. "I wasn't..."  
"No need to lie. I know you."  
Tom chuckled. "That transparent, am I?"  
"You both are."  
"What d'you mean?"  
"You know how she is, Tom. You've known her longer than I have. She misses you but...she's hurt. And she's stubborn...and..."  
Tom nodded his head slowly, his eyes glued to the hardwood floor beneath his feet. "I get it. I...I totally mucked things up. I should've...I should've done a lot of things differently."  
"Talk to her."  
"I want to, Nik. God I want to. You don't know how many times I've tried. How many calls I've almost made. I laid in bed for ten minutes last night just...staring at a blank text screen. I just...I have absolutely no idea where to begin." Nik chuckled and Tom glanced up at him, his eyebrows furrowed. "What?"  
"You two are a fucking hot mess."  
"Yeah, I know that."  
"I'm not even speaking of this stupid little spat. You're both so blind to what it's actually about, it's really quite incredible."  
"What're yammering about?"  
Nik scoffed. "I d'know. She gets angry about your relationship. You get angry because she's not being supportive. Now that relationship has ended, but you're not mourning that. You're pining after your best friend."  
Tom's face contorted and he shook his head. "Pining? I'm not quite sure what you're implying..."  
"Oh I think you are sure. And I think I'm not the one you should speak to about it," Nik finished his sentence with a slight nod toward the entrance.  
Tom lifted his eyes and maneuvered them through the crowd of people before him. Standing in the doorway, backlit by the street lamps on the snowy sidewalks of London, was his Kate, bundled up in a black peacoat and looking positively terrified. "My god..." he whispered. "Hold this." He didn't wait for an answer, just pushed his drink into Nik's hand and quickly made his way to the girl. Her hair was shorter than it had been when he last saw her, cut just below her chin and glittering with melting snowflakes. His long legs provided quick strides and before he could even remotely plan what he was going to say, he arrived in front of her.  
He simply stared at her for a bit, and she stared right back. He was scrambling to form a coherent sentence and she...well she was determined to make him speak first.  
"Uh, hi," he stated simply, his voice shaking with nervousness. He smiled a bit, happy to see her, yet afraid she'd really come to tell him to fuck off once and for all.  
"Hi," Kate responded with an equally trepidatious grin.  
"I didn't think you'd come."  
"I still haven't really decided. It's why I'm standing so close to the door. Easier to turn and run."  
Tom chuckled and ran his hand over his reddish blonde curls. "That'd be funny if I wasn't afraid you were serious."  
Kate cleared her throat and glanced around the place. "Nice party you got here."  
"Yeah, Nik knows what he's doing. He should really be an event planner or something," Tom was trying to joke. That's exactly what Nik was, but Kate didn't seem to find his coy humor impressive. He coughed. "Though, can't say I'm in much of a party mood."  
"Well if you want to leave, don't let my presence stop you."  
"Katey..."  
"You know...now that you mention it, I think I feel a bit of a headache coming on. So...I should probably go."  
"Kate, wait a minute..."  
"Yeah. I'll see you later. This was a bad idea." Kate quickly turned on her heels and head back out the door, hoping he'd allow her to quietly escape, but she was met with no such luck.  
"Katherine! Stop!" Tom exclaimed, chasing after her. The cold air was a bit of a shock to his bare forearms, but he couldn't care less at that moment. "Please, Kate. Please don't leave."  
"Look, Tom, I'm sorry. This was an awful idea. I should've never come..."  
"No, no it wasn't," Tom argued, folding his arms around himself and bouncing to feign some kind of warmth.  
"Thomas, just go back inside. You're going to catch your death." Kate turned once again but instantly felt his hand wrap around her arm. She closed her eyes. Why wouldn't he just let her escape peacefully?  
"Kate, we need to talk."  
"Well, it's a bit hard to do that here."  
"Alright so let's go," Tom insisted. "I'll go get my jacket and we'll go somewhere quieter. Somewhere we can talk. Fixing this is way more important than some stupid party."  
"That's not going to happen in one night, Tom."  
"I know that, but please. Kate, we've known each other all our lives. I miss you."  
His words brought tears to her eyes. And not happy tears, or sad tears, but angry tears. Tears that burned in her chocolate brown eyes. "Really? Is that why we haven't spoken in four months? Because you missed me?"  
"I tried! I didn't know what to say!"  
"And now you do?"  
"No, but I want to figure it out."  
"And I wanted my best friend to not choose a girl he'd known for three months over someone he's known his whole life, but we can't always get what we want."  
Tom gulped. Now tears were building in his eyes. It had just hit him how much he'd truly hurt her, and it was breaking his heart. "I messed up. I know I did. I royally fucked this up, Katey, but you've gotta let me fix it. You've gotta let me try. You're like...you're family to me. You're like another sister."  
That. Stung. She wasn't sure why exactly, but hearing the word sister leave his lips felt like receiving an iron fisted punch to the stomach. It made her angrier than she already was. "Well, I can't do this tonight. I had a long day and honestly I'm already exhausted. I'm sorry, Tom."  
"Kate..."  
"Look, my number hasn't changed. If you wanna talk this out or... at least attempt to, call me and we can have coffee or something, alright?"  
"Okay."  
"I'll see you."  
"Yeah, yeah. I'll call you later."  
"Fine." Kate turned again and this time, he didn't stop her. He did, however, stand in the snow, staring after her, as she practically ran down the sidewalk, as fast and as far away from him as she could get.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"I've left three messages. I've...called a thousand times, texted a thousand more and nothing," Tom stated setting down his glass on the table before him.  
It had been two weeks since his return to London and his initial run in with Kate. Ever since he'd been attempting to get ahold of the girl, again and again (and again) but it was all to no avail and it was beginning to wear on the man.  
"What do you want me to tell you?" Nik asked with a shrug. "You knew going into this it wasn't going to be easy."  
"Yes, I realize that, but if she doesn't even respond, what exactly am I to do?" Tom questioned.  
"I d'know. Go to her office? Go to her house? You know where she lives."  
Tom hung his head and chuckled lightly. "Actually, I don't. She was getting ready to move last we spoke and I was never aware of the exact location."  
Nik shook his head. This brunch was supposed to be fun, a jovial meal between mates. However Tom had decided to spend the morning whining about the repercussions of his actions and Nik's usually even temper was beginning to crack. "Look, Thomas, I love you, dearly. Both of you, but... Kate not wanting to speak to you is YOUR fault. You don't get to be sad with her for being hurt. You essentially told her to go fuck herself for saying precisely what all of us were thinking. All she was doing was trying to protect you and you broke her fucking heart."  
"I know that."  
"Then stop bitching and actually do something. She won't answer? Send flowers or something. She doesn't want to hang out? Go find her. But DO SOMETHING." There was a pause. A long enough pause to leave both men a bit uncomfortable. "I'm going to be brutally honest here because I think you need to hear it. I have never, not once in the ten years that I've known her, seen Katey so heartbroken. Not when she essentially got left at the alter. Not when her father passed. Not even when the tea shop was all but yanked away from her."  
Tom suddenly looked up from the table. "What happened to the shop?"  
"You haven't heard?"  
"No. No, I just assumed she was still getting things ready."  
"God, no. After she and Duncan split, her financier backed out. She had to regroup and it took her awhile to find the funds and the second she was ready, the realtor said the seller had decided not to go through with it."  
"You can't be serious."  
"I indeed am. It all happened maybe... a month and a half ago. And after that she just gave up. Decided she was meant to stay at the firm."  
Tom groaned. "She hates that place."  
"We all know that. She just...feels defeated I think. You, Duncan and the shop, it all happened within the last year and she's over putting herself out there I suppose."  
"I told her I'd help with the shop but she refused."  
"Yeah and then when she actually needed your help, you weren't around any longer."  
"She could've called. I know how much she wanted it. I would've given her the money."  
"Called and said what? 'Hey I know you hate me because your girlfriend told you to, but I need your bank account'? That really sounds like our Kate."  
"I don't hate her," Tom argued softly, giving his head a wave. "I never have and I never could. Do you honestly believe this is how I wanted things to be? Like I wasn't sitting around grieving as well? Fuck, that's probably why my relationship ended! Instead of focusing on that, I was busy mourning the loss of my best friend."  
"Then why did it take you so long to even try to fix it?"  
"I didn't know what to do! Kate...albeit completely warranted, despised me. We weren't speaking, not to mention had I tried, I probably would've ended up single long before I did."  
"So just not saying a word to her for nearly four months was worth it?"  
"No. Of course not. Don't be daft."  
"And what about the last two. According to the reports, you broke up in September. What's your excuse there?"  
"I don't have one, alright? I'm just an asshole. Is that what you want to hear? I am... one hundred percent a complete fuck all of a man, okay?"  
Nik chuckled. "You should leave that in a voicemail. She might answer then."  
Tom scoffed and shook his head. "You're a right prick, you know that?"  
"I wear it proudly."  
"I can tell."  
Nik stared at the movie star a second as Tom ran his hands over his face. "What're you doing tonight?"  
Tom shook his head and shrugged. "I don't know. Sitting around contemplating my existence, I suppose. Why?"  
"It's karaoke night."  
Tom eyed his friend skeptically, tilting his head ever so slightly. "I really don't think popping up at one of our old traditions is a great idea."  
"And why not?"  
"Well for one, I'd like to not get you into trouble."  
"We've done karaoke once a month at the same bar for nearly ten years. I surely don't need to tell you that."  
"Well no, but do you really think she'll buy your innocence?"  
"I'm not saying anything more. Come if you want, or don't. I'm just giving you an option."  
Tom smiled. "Thank you. I do appreciate that."  
"Look, I want you guys to be okay as much as you do. I love Kate but...she is a lot of work for little ol me."  
"She's not that bad," Tom argued with a laugh. "She's had a rough year."  
"I know, but you guys make a way cuter couple than she and I do anyway."  
Tom shook his head. "You're really into this something deeper theory of yours, aren't you?"  
Nik shrugged. "I just think there's feelings there that neither of you seem willing to admit. And I think you'd be great together honestly. And you'd have beautiful children. You might be able to overthrow the monarchy, honestly."  
Tom's cheeks took on the slightest pink flush. "Yeah well, if that was true, I am certain I have fucked that up too."  
"I don't think so. I doubt she'd be so upset if that was the case," Nik insisted. Tom remained silent. "Have you thought about it?"  
"What?"  
"Dating her, dummy."  
Tom gulped, his finger squeaking around the rim of his glass. "Of course I have. I've known her thirty years. I mean, we sort of dated at University. It was never official but...it happened. It just never stuck, I suppose."  
"Never stuck because you didn't want it to or..."  
"Quite the contrary actually. She met Duncan. And we all know what happened then."  
"Ugh," Nik retched. "What a piece of shite that one is."  
"I was quite upset for awhile. But she was happy," Tom stated with a sad smirk. "And that was all I really wanted. So, I moved on and...I dunno. I suppose there will always be a bit of deeper feeling than friendship."  
"She and Duncan broke up like...a billion times. Why didn't you ever swoop in?"  
Tom shrugged. "Either I wasn't single or...she was in her I've sworn off men phase. Just never worked out."  
"Well, you're both single now..."  
"Yes well, she hates me now."  
"So fix it."  
"I'm trying."  
"Not very hard you're not."  
Tom rolled his eyes. "I'll come tonight, okay? I'll be there, but if she goes completely mental, it is not my fault."  
Nik scoffed dismissively. "She won't. Emotions? In public? From Kate? The very thought!"  
Tom chuckled. "True. She is the woman who walked into her own rehearsal dinner, told everyone in attendance that the wedding was off and then just proceeded to drink and mingle. Not so much as a tear shed. Sometimes I swear she's made of stone."  
"She's not," Nik argued. "She does put on a fantastic show, though."  
"If you don't know her," Tom smiled. And he did know her. Probably better than most.

"Can we go on holiday after Christmas?" Kate asked. "Like...a Boxing Day trip? Somewhere warm."  
Nik shook his head. "I can't leave before New Years. I've got so much shit on my plate."  
"What if I buy your ticket?"  
"Katey..."  
"Ok fine. After New Years then."  
Their pink haired friend, Dana chuckled. The friends were already a couple drinks in and waiting for a few more people to arrive. Kate was still blissfully unaware of Tom's plans to attend but Nik's stomach was growing more knotted with each passing second.  
"What's with the sudden urge to get off the island?" Dana, the token American of the group, asked, sipping on the rum and coke in her hand.  
"Nothing. I just haven't taken a trip in awhile and...it's cold and I want to be on a beach," Kate insisted.  
"And Tom's back," Nik stated.  
"No," Kate began, shaking her head. "He has nothing to do with anything."  
Dana's well groomed eyebrows arched high. "Ooo, the prodigal son returns. Have you spoken to him?"  
"No."  
"Not for his lack of trying," Nik chimed in again.  
Kate's dark eyes shot daggers at the man next to her. "Who's side are you on here?"  
"I'm not anyone's side. I completely understand why you're upset. I just think perhaps...maybe...you should hear him out.  
"And I think..."  
"Well she may not have a choice tonight," Dana stated with a bit of a snicker and a nod toward the entrance.  
"What?" Kate asked. But, upon turning around her question was answered. She spun back toward Nik as Tom approached the table. "What did you do?" she hissed.  
"Me?!" Nik explained. "We've done karaoke at this place for years! How do you know I did anything?!"  
"Because I know you and I know your meddling ass can't leave well enough alone."  
"Kate, I..."  
"Hey guys," Tom's voice, trembling with nerves, interrupted.  
"Hey Tom!" Dana greeted, springing off her stool to embrace the 6'2" man. "Come to ruin Katey's night?"  
"No," Tom refuses with a chuckle of dismissal. "Not in the least."  
"Well done for it being unintentional," Kate muttered.  
Nik instantly shot her a glare. "Tom, have a seat. I will go grab another round." He leaned into Kate's ear. "Be nice."  
"No," Kate refused as he walked away. She quickly slammed the rest of her whiskey sofa and ignored Tom taking the seat directly next to her.  
Dana cleared her throat, hoping to take a bit of the uncomfortableness from the air around them. "So, Tom, Kate her is trying to plan a beachy getaway. Got any...recommendations?"  
"Um, I don't know," Tom chuckled. "I guess I'm pretty partial to Hawaii."  
"That one of the stops on the Tom Goes Fame Whore Tour?" Kate muttered.  
Tom gulped. She was out for blood tonight. "No, no it was not."  
"That's too bad. Bet the paparazzi really would've loved that."  
"How's things?" Nik asked, rejoining the group with for drinks in hand.  
"Great, I need to pee." Kate gave no one even a look as she rose and headed for the bathroom.  
Tom looked to Nik, eyes wide. "This was a terrible idea."  
"Just give it a bit," Nik advised. "Maybe she just needs a few drinks in her."  
Tom scoffed. "I somehow doubt that will make things better in any way." He took a sip of his gin and prayed that Nik was right. Though he definitely doubted it. 

Dana and Nik were onstage singing. Dancing Queen. As Nik always sang. It was the first time all night Tom and Kate had been left alone. Other friends had come and then gone. Kate laughed and smiled and paid attention to them, but ignored Tom. Except when she was throwing quick witted barbs in his direction. And there were a good plenty of those. Other people being around had seemed to lighten the mood but now that they were all gone, and Tom and Kate were on their own, the tension was palpable.  
"So," Tom began, finally growing sick of the silence, "is this just how things are now? You just completely ignoring my existence."  
Kate shrugged. "What can I say? Got used to it in the last four months."  
"Kate, come on!" Tom pleaded. "I wanna fix this!"  
"What makes you think you can?"  
"I don't know but I'd really like to try."  
"And why should I let you?"  
"Because we've been best friends all of our lives?"  
"Best friends don't turn on each other when a new love interest walks in the damned door."  
"Ok. I get it. I fucked up. I know. But does that honestly nullify the previous thirty years? Like really?"  
"I dunno, Tom. I honestly feel like I don't know you anymore."  
"I'm me! I'm the same guy I was at this time last year! You remember last year. When we were plotting our yearly best friend trip, getting ready to take Paris by storm," Tom reminded, trying to crack some form of emotion out of the girl other than anger. "That's me, Kate. You know that. You have to know that."  
"That guy was not the bloke I saw all over the tabloids all summer long."  
"I know..."  
"And that guy sure as hell would not have told me to get onboard with the insanity or fuck off."  
Tom sighed heavily, his broad shoulders sinking as he exhaled. "We both said things we regret..."  
"Oh no. I regret nothing about anything I said. At all."  
"Really? You have no regrets about calling me a sell out? Or...a fame whore...or..."  
"Nope. Because you were."  
"No I wasn't!" Tom exclaimed. Other tables were beginning to observe their conversation as it gradually got louder, but neither Tom nor Kate seemed to notice (or care). "Despite it being out of character, which believe it or not, I do realize, I was being completely honest in my actions. I realize you two dislike each other, but I genuinely cared for her. I really, truly did and yes, it made me act like a complete idiot and I wasn't myself for a time but...I really thought she was the one."  
"How? After what? Ninety days?"  
"Really, Kate? This coming from the girl who took back her cheating, lying asshole of a boyfriend after he flashed a sparkly rock in her face?"  
Kate's jaw clenched in anger. "No. You do not get to do that."  
"Why not? You get to point out all my faults. I can't mention yours?" Tom asked. "The Katey I know wouldn't have put up with Duncan's bullshit but as I recall I was in Mexico for your wedding not all that long ago."  
Kate scoffed and shook his head. "Seriously. Fuck you."  
"Yeah, fuck me," Tom mocked. "Cuz if I say something, I'm an asshole, but if you do it's fucking scientific fact."  
"Guys," Nik's voice interrupted from over Tom's shoulders. "Enough."  
"You're right. It is enough," Kate agreed, picking up her coat and handbag as she rose from her stool. "I'll see you guys later."  
"Kate..." Nik began.  
"No. I'm good. Real good. Especially knowing I've made the right decision." Kate made a swift beeline for the exit before anyone had a remote chance of stopping her.  
"Jesus fucking christ," Dana groaned. "Are you trying to make things worse?"  
"No. Of course not," Tom argued. "I just...lost my temper..."  
"Oh fucking stop it," Dana snapped. "You, sir are a fucking hot pile of garbage. Why the fuck would you throw Duncan in her face? What's wrong with you?"  
Tom hung his head. "I don't know."  
"Well figure it out. Not that it matters now because I doubt you're coming back from this one." Dana collected her things. "And hey, how about you don't come ruin our get togethers like...ever again. Thanks."  
Tom looked up at Nik as Dana hurried after Kate. "Nik, I'm sorry..."  
"Just don't," Nik sighed. "Maybe Kate was right. Maybe you have changed."  
Tom gulped as the last of his companions headed for the door. As if things weren't bad enough, now he had three relationships to fix.


	3. Chapter 3

Most of London appreciated a good snowfall so close to the Christmas holiday. A nice plush, white blanket coating absolutely everything in sight, sleds, last minute shopping, twinkling lights. To most it was a classic Christmas card photo, but not to Kate. Kate would've much rather been on a beach. White sand, a blue ocean that all but melted into the same blue of the sky. A bikini and flip flops was all she needed, not boots, mittens, and a parka.  
Kate was finishing up a few things in her office before checking out for the holiday. A full two weeks off and though she had no set plans, she was excited to get away from the monotonous nine to five of the accounting firm. At least she wouldn't be there. At the very least.  
She had lost her father just a year ago. He was on his way from Cambridge to visit her in London. He taught at the university and didn't get to see his daughter as much as he had liked so when it came time for the holiday, Professor Charles Lancaster packed up his car and headed to the city. It was snowing then too, and the drivers were behaving like maniacs. One ran red light and Kate's father was gone. She hated Christmas and she hated the snow with good reason. And now, with no father, a mother who'd passed when she was eight, no grandparents and the only aunt and uncle she knew residing in Australia, Christmas was bound to be quite a lonely day. She'd be locked up in her two story flat with her corgi pup, LuLu, Love, Actually and an entire Christmas ham all to herself. Maybe some for Lu.  
As she finished up a few final items and began getting into her coat, her cell phone rang out. Without so much as glancing at the screen she put it to her ear. "Hello?"  
"Katey?"  
Kate was surprised to hear the voice of Tom's younger sister Emma on the other end of the line. As much as Kate had grown up with Tom, she'd grown up with his sisters, and Emma was the baby sister she never had. "Em? What's wrong?"  
"It's Tom. I don't know what to do."  
Kate could sense the panic in the girl's voice. Any ounce of anger she still harbored for the man was immediately cast out. "What happened?"  
"He's in the emergency. He fainted or something at some meeting and they rushed him there and I'm terrified and in Cambridge with Mum already and we can't get there quickly because of the snow..."  
"Em. Emma, slow down, alright? It's fine. Which hospital is he at?"  
"Saint Jeffries."  
"Alright. I've already got a car waiting out front. I'll head over now."  
"Really? Oh Kate. Thank you."  
"You're welcome, darling. I'll call you as soon as I know anything."  
"Mum wants you to come for Christmas. She doesn't want you to be alone."  
Kate chuckled and used her shoulder to clutch her phone to her ear as she headed out the door. "I really don't know if that's the greatest idea, Em..."  
"Kate, please. You know Mum will come and get you herself if she has to. You and Tom have been through too much for this to be it."  
Kate sighed. "I'll think about it, alright?"  
"Okay. Just know there's always a place for you here."  
"Thank you. I appreciate that. I love you guys."  
"We love you too. Call soon."  
"I will. Bye, love." Kate hung up and sighed as she climbed into the back of the awaiting taxi. She rattled off the location to the driver and settled in, trying to calm her nerves. Despite the current state of their affairs, Kate was concerned. She didn't want anything to happen to Tom, not ever, even when she was at her absolute angriest. But she also wasn't sure how he would react to her presence. 

"He should be out shortly."  
"Thank you," Kate smiled as the nurse headed away. She had arrived to Saint Jeffries to find Tom had already been admitted and was in a room being treated. Forced to wait for his release, she basically paced a whole in the carpet of the waiting room. The doctor had explained to her that Tom had indeed collapsed and was being treated for a combination of exhaustion, dehydration and lack of nutrients. The staff had been pumping Tom full of fluids for just over two hours as he rested, completely unaware of his estranged friend's arrival. He'd been given medication to help him sleep and a command to take it easy over the holiday and for the next couple weeks after. And if Kate had any influence left with the tall, blonde heartthrob, she would make sure he obeyed.  
"Kate?"  
She hadn't anticipated the quickness of his arrival as she turned to great the familiar voice behind her. "Hi," she said in an almost whisper as she smiled weakly. "How're you feeling?"  
"Tired, but alright," Tom answered, scratching the back of his head with an air of nervousness. "What're you doing here? How did you..."  
"Emma called. She was worried and it made me worried so..." Kate explained. "C'mon. Let's get you home, huh?"  
"Yeah...yeah. Of course." 

"You really, really didn't have to come," Tom insisted, opening the door to his dark flat. He flipped on a light and tossed his keys on the entry way table. "I could've called for a car."  
"Taken a taxi home from the hospital? I think not," Kate said, shutting the door behind her and shaking off her snow covered self. "Emma asked me to check in on you. What was I to do? Tell her no?"  
"Well it's not like I deserve your sympathy at the present moment," Tom sighed, slipping out of his jacket and hanging it on the back of a chair.  
"Stop it. I want you healthy and safe, whether we're getting along or not," Kate stated. "Sit. I'll put on a kettle."  
Tom chuckled silently, but obeyed. Kate had always been the nurturer in their relationship. Tom tried to be, but she often refused and was quite stubborn when it came to convincing. But whether he was sick or had a broken heart or was just plain having a bad day, Kate was always there to make tea and give him whatever medicine his body or spirit needed. "Katey, you really don't have to do all of this..."  
"Are you ever going to shut up?" Kate asked, coming back into the living area. She grabbed an afghan from the back of his sofa and draped it across the man's broad shoulders.  
Tom laughed. "I don't have hypothermia."  
"My god," Kate growled.  
"I'm joking, I'm joking!" Tom laughed as Kate sank into the other end of his grey couch. There was a moment of silence between the two, just glances and coy smirks as Kate settled in. Tom then cleared his throat. "Thank you. Seriously. I appreciate you being here. I really do."  
Kate sighed and waved her head. "Don't, Tom," she insisted. "It's fine. I'm just...I'm worried about you. What're you doing, darling? You're not eating or sleeping, not even drinking aside from the two empty bottles of scotch on the counter. What's going on with you?"  
Tom gulped and shook his head. "I don't know. A lot of thinking, I suppose. Way too much of it," he answered solemnly. "I've...made so many mistakes. With you, with everyone and I..."  
"Tom, don't. Not right now."  
"No, Kate, listen. Please. I've got to get this out," Tom insisted. "I never in a million years meant for us to turn out this way. You are the very last person in the world I want to fight with. You have to know that."  
"I do, Thomas."  
"I am... so...so incredibly sorry. About everything. About the way I treated you over the summer. And for ignoring you and for my horrible behavior at the pub..."  
"Thomas, its fine, really. We'll be fine," Kate insisted.  
"It's not fine and there's absolutely no excuse for it. And...if I have to spend the rest of my miserable life making it up to you, I will. I swear to it. I cannot lose you, Kate. I can't bear even the thought of it."  
Kate watched as the emotion clutched hold of his voice and tears began to trickle down his chiseled cheek. She gulped down her own emotion, trying to keep herself in check, but watching the man all but break down had never been something she could ignore. "Oh Thomas," she cooed as he rubbed his eyes, trying to stop the tears. "Stop. Stop it," Kate commanded, crawling toward the man and wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders. She instantly felt his wrap tightly around her waist in return. Sure she was still a bit angry and definitely a bit more hurt, but considering all she'd already lost in the last year, the thought of punishing a man who was quite obviously remorseful seemed petty at best. "Darling, please," Kate begged, pressing her lips firmly into the top of his blondish red curls. "We'll be okay, I promise. We always are."  
"We've never fought for this long," Tom said with a sniff and a chuckle. "Not even...when we were sort of dating. We never...we never go for more than a few days not speaking."  
"I know, I know," Kate nodded. "It got out of hand but I promise you we will be fine."  
"Don't be nice to me just because I'm sick," Tom stated firmly, lifting his head from her shoulder. His face was somehow pale and red at the same time, remnants of tears still staining his cheeks.  
"I'm not," Kate laughed." I would never."  
"You mean it? You're going to forgive all of this nonsense? All of my idiocy and ugliness? You're just...letting it all go?"  
"Yes," Kate nodded, taking his scruffy cheeks in her hands. "It's going to take a bit, but we will be fine, Thomas. Things will inevitably go back to normal. They always do."  
Tom chuckled and wiped away the last remaining tears with the heel of his palm and Kate wedged herself between him and the back of the sofa. "God, I'm a bloody mess."  
"You really are," Kate giggled.  
"Thanks. Thank you," Tom laughed. He stretched himself out on the sofa, sinking in until his face was mere inches away from the girl still in his arms. "I'm so sorry," he repeated again, brushing a few stray strands of hair from her eyes. "I missed you. So much."  
"I've missed you too," Kate stated, her eyes drifting closed as he kissed her forehead. "Now you're supposed to be resting, not getting yourself all in a tizzy."  
"I am supposed to be resting," Tom agreed, "but I'm not finding myself particularly tired at the moment."  
"Oh? And what exactly are you?"  
"I...am...hungry," Tom stated. "Famished, actually."  
"Then perhaps we should order in," Kate stated, squirming her way off the couch as the tea kettle finally whistled. "You decide what you're hungry for."  
Tom just laughed to himself and licked his lips as he watched the brunette disappear into the kitchen. He was certain he was awake but her even being there felt more like a dream. A Christmas miracle perhaps. 

After they'd eaten more Indian food than they could've possibly imagined or needed, they settled into the sofa for a string of movies. First an old favorite followed by a new release neither had seen, all cuddled up together under the deep purple handmade blanket.  
"I should go. You need to get some rest," Kate said softly.  
"I'm not tired."  
"You're practically drooling on yourself," Kate laughed. "Take your medicine and get some sleep."  
"Kate, wait," Tom insisted, taking a gentle grasp on the girl's wrist as she sat up.  
"What?"  
"There's something else I need to tell you."  
"What? Thomas, what's wrong?"  
Tom inhaled deeply, gathering every ounce of nerve he had in his thin and currently frail body. Without warning, he leaned forward and pressed his lips firmly, assertively against hers. It was soon evident that she wasn't going to object as he felt her fingers weave into the curls on the back of his head. Her hips slid closer against his and Tom grew certain she could feel the excitement growing between his legs. Her glossy pink lips parted, allowing his tongue access to fully explore her mouth, engaging in a euphorically passionate war. A blissful war that he completely lost himself in.  
Tom pulled back just long enough to gasp a breath. His hands rounded the curve of her buttocks, yanking her frame on top of his before his mouth crashed into the crease of her neck.  
"Tom," she gasped. It was evident from the tone that his nibbles had in fact found her sweet spot, and he had no intention of stopping.  
"Tom..."  
"Tom..."  
"Tom!"  
Tom's baby blue eyes shot open to find Kate, not in his arms writhing, but standing before him, where he had apparently been dozing by himself on the couch.  
"Shit, sorry," Tom apologized, throwing an arm over the back of the couch and pulling himself back into a seated position. "How long have I been out?"  
"A couple hours," Kate said softly. "It's okay. I passed out too, but I think, if you're alright, I'm gonna head for home."  
"You sure? Is it still snowing?"  
"No. It's stopped and everything's clear. I've got a car on the way," Kate answered. She noticed a spaced quality behind Tom's eyes. "Are you okay? You like like you've seen a ghost."  
"No, no. I'm fine. Just completely knackered I guess", Tom responded with a nervous laugh. He was NOT okay. His palms were sweaty and his heart was racing. He was in desperate need of a cold shower. "Hey... come to Christmas with me?"  
Kate chuckled lightly. "Em already asked me."  
"And you said..."  
"That I'd think about it."  
"Please. It'd mean the world to Mum. And me. And I don't want to spend all the holiday thinking about you, alone..."  
"But I have a ham! And a Love, Actually marathon..."  
"Theres only one Love, Actually..."  
"I know. I was going to watch it on repeat."  
"Well now I really don't want you to be alone," Tom scoffed.  
Kate rolled her eyes. "Fine. But I'm bringing Lu."  
"Of course. I wouldn't dream otherwise."  
"Alright. I guess I should go pack a bag then."  
"Fantastic. I'll get you at noon and we'll get lunch before we hit the road."  
"Alright. Fine. You win." Kate bent down and brushed her lips against Tom's cheek. "Go back to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."  
"It's a date," Tom smiled as she headed for the door. "Goodnight, darling."  
"Goodnight, love."  
Tom waited for the door to shut before he let out a deep sigh and slipped back into the couch. He covered his face with a pillow and screamed into it. His subconscious had just gone and made things real interesting... really, really interesting.


	4. Chapter 4

Tom arrived at Kate's door promptly at noon. Okay, he was fifteen minutes early, but he was excited. Probably far too excited. It was a beautiful day, the sun glaring of the previous day's freshly fallen snow. He was headed to his mother's to spend the weekend with his favorite people in the world, including the best friend he thought he had lost. He really couldn't have been in better spirits if he tried.  
"Coming!" he heard Kate shout as he removed his slender finger from the doorbell. Tom chuckled as he heard her footsteps pounding toward him. She pulled open the black door. "I'm not quite ready, sorry," she instantly apologized. "I had to run some errands and I dropped LuLu at the boarders..."  
"I thought she was coming," Tom stated, stepping in and closing the heavy door behind him.  
"I didn't want to do that to your mother," Kate explained.  
"I'm sure it would've been fine," Tom chuckled, walking into the living room of Kate's new condo. Well, it was more new to him. She had been there nearly six months, but this was his very first visit. There were high ceilings, the walls alternating white or grey, grey carpet, white furniture. It was all very modern and sleek which is precisely what Tom expected from her. His favorite part was the windows. Ceiling high windows stretching an entire wall of the living room and into the kitchen. Outside was the London skyline in all of its glory. It was gorgeous. "Wow, Katey. This place is incredible."  
"You haven't been here!" Kate exclaimed with a glowing smile. "It is quite lovely, isn't it?"  
"It definitely is," Tom nodded, still sort of in awe.  
"Want the grand tour?"  
"Of course I do!"  
"C'mon," Kate smiled, taking the man's hand. She led him into the enormous kitchen, also white and grey, with black counter tops and every appliance and fixture a shining stainless steel. "I love the kitchen. It's incredible. And you, sir, must come make me dinner some night."  
"Name a day, darling. I am there," Tom agreed. He paused and just looked around. It was more than a shade different from the flat she had when he left. It was bright, it was glowing, it was grownup. "Look at you, Kate. This is amazing."  
"I know, my first big girl purchase and I'm positively in love."  
"I can see that," Tom chuckled as she bounded into the dining room, attached to what seemed to be a sitting room with much of the same decor. "You're like a little jumping bean."  
"Yes well, I've waited a very long time for my best friend to see my new home," Kate smiled.  
"Well, I'm sorry I'm a tit."  
"Stop," Kate commanded, giving him a nudge. "We're fine. We're good."  
"Are we?" Tom asked, looking at her sternly. "I really want us to be."  
"I mean...yeah. We've got to just...put the past in the past. We both said some crappy things, we both did some crappy things..."  
"Kate, you didn't do anything. This...was all me."  
"No. It was her."  
Tom chuckled but shook his head. "No, it wasn't. I'm a grown man. I make my own decisions and my own mistakes. She never told me to stop talking to you."  
"Please. She HATED me."  
"Because you questioned her more than my mother! Seriously, it was like an interrogation."  
"You were laughing!"  
"I thought it was funny!" Tom exclaimed with a laugh. "She apparently did not. Not to mention, I think... I think she was probably threatened by you. I mean...I can understand why. We're probably overly affectionate compared to most. Plus we never stop talking, I mean, if when you started dating Duncan, he was texting and calling and laughing with another girl, wouldn't you be just a little weary?"  
"You've been my best friend since we were in nappies, Tom. How could she have possibly been threatened by me? If we were going to be together, we would have been a long time ago, right?"  
Tom pursed his lips and shrugged. "I don't know. Things change. I mean we did date for quite a long time."  
"Ten years ago! And it wasn't really dating. We were never like an actual couple."  
"Maybe not publicly, but it was pretty damn real to me," Tom stated.  
"That's not what I'm saying, Tom," Kate insisted. "It was real to me too, you know that."  
"And it was five years, Katherine. That's a long time. A very long time."  
"I'm not arguing that. I'm just saying... if she was so intimidated or so threatened by me, that's her insecurities. That has nothing to do with me. I did nothing, ever to that girl. Was I being protective over you, absolutely. But when she and I met I was nothing but cordial and kind."  
"I know," Tom nodded. "You tried, and I appreciate that. And...I appreciate you trying to open my eyes. I do. I didn't then, but I do now, and I wish I would've listened. Probably would've saved me a lot of pain."  
Kate pouted sweetly and walked toward him, getting lost in his arms and chest. "Next time."  
Tom chuckled. "Next time," he agreed, pressing his lips into her head. "Come on. Let's get going. I need to see the rest of this place and we've got a train to catch."  
"Alright. To the upstairs!" Kate exclaimed, taking the man's hand once again.  
"Upstairs, huh?"  
"No. I sleep on the dining room table."  
"That sounds...wildly uncomfortable," Tom stated as she pulled him up the dim staircase.  
"Mm, depends who I'm with," Kate purred, flexing her eyebrows.  
Tom waved his head back and forth. "No. Nope. I don't want to know." And he truly didn't. He was having a hard enough time getting the previous evening's dream out of his brain. They'd just barely begun speaking again, the last thing he needed was more awkwardness.  
"I'm joking," Kate insisted. "Until today, Nik was the only man who's ever made it passed the front door. And he's definitely not interested in me."  
Tom chuckled. "No. No. Definitely not." He cleared his threat as they popped into a black and white bathroom. "So...you're not dating? There's no one in Katherine's life that her best friend should know about?"  
Kate scoffed and snorted and sputtered in dismissal. "Please. I've been on like...three dates since Duncan and I split. And none of them were with the same person."  
"It's been almost a year, Kate."  
"Ten months, but who's counting?" Kate stated leaning against the dark counter top. She lifted her shoulders to her ears and dropped them quickly. "I guess I'm just...not there yet, ya know? Duncan really, REALLY messed me up and...I'm just not sure I'm ready to give someone else that power yet."  
"I understand," Tom nodded. "Trust me, I do."  
"Enough! I don't want to talk about this any more," Kate said, shaking her head wildly. "Moving on!"  
"Lead the way, my darling."  
Kate led the man through the hallway: first a guest bedroom, then her own and then a final door at the very end of the hall. "This, this is my favorite," she beamed as she opened the door.  
This room was a stark contrast from every other room in the home. The walls were a dark, berry red, but they could hardly be seen behind the cases upon cases of books. Dark oak shelves, as high as the ceiling, littered with what appeared to be every book she'd ever come across. Except for one wall. One wall was a bright glittery gold and that wall housed pictures, gobs of them. And he was in a good portion of them.  
"Kate...my God. It's incredible," Tom said, his voice hushed and awestruck. He walked in and looked over the photographs spanning their whole lives. He chuckled as all the memories in the frames before him, jutted into the forefront of his mind. "God. Look at us. I can't believe..."  
"We've done a LOT over the years."  
"Indeed we have," Tom agreed. His blue eyed gaze froze on one photo in particular. It was one he knew had to have been taken during their college romance. She was gazing to the right, off camera and he was behind her, his head a mess of curls, his eyes glued upon the girl adoringly. They had never made things truly official, despite Tom desperately wanting to. However he had never voiced those feelings to her and eventually she met Duncan and things ended for good. Tom was devastated, but he kept those feelings to himself as well and went back to being the girl's best friend, despite how much his heart was aching. Standing here now, gazing at them at what was probably their happiest, and thinking of all the bullshit they'd gone through in the past year, he was beginning to wonder if letting her go was perhaps the biggest mistake he'd ever made.  
"I love that one too," Kate said, posting up beside the man and pressing the side of her face into his bicep.  
Tom smiled and lifted his arm over her, wrapping it around her shoulders. He dipped his head down and kissed the top of her head. "It's perfect, Katey. It really is."  
Kate exhaled contently before looking up at the man. "What's wrong? Why are there tears in those beautiful eyes?"  
Tom didn't even realize he'd started crying. "Nothing. Nothing," he insisted, wiping the tears on the sleeve of his jacket. He sniffed and coughed. "It's just...seeing it all. It's a lot. There's a lot of stuff there, y'know?"  
"A lot, yes, but a lot of good."  
"And some bad."  
"Of course but there's no photos of that," Kate smirked. Tom didn't so she poked at his ribs playfully. "Come on. It's been more good than bad and there's much more to come."  
"I hope so."  
"I KNOW so," Kate insisted. She rose to the tips of her toes and pressed her lips into his cheek. "Let's get going. We'll miss our train."  
"Well we can't have that now can we?"  
"No. I spent a fortune on gifts last night! I need to give them out."  
"You didn't have to do that."  
"I know but I wanted too."  
Tom scoffed and shook his head as Kate headed out the door. He took one last look at the photograph that had gotten to him and then headed out. Perhaps Nik had been right. Maybe there was still something deeper than "friends" beneath the surface. At least for him. 

The train ride was short, just over an hour, and both parties spent most of the ride sleeping. When they arrived in Suffolk, it had just begun to snow again and Tom's mother, Diana was waiting inside the station.  
"I haven't told her you're coming," Tom stated, reaching into the overhead bin for their luggage. "So prepare for shrieking." Kate chuckled and reach to take her suitcase but Tom refused, pulling up the handle of his own and placing hers on top. "I've got it. Go on."  
"Always the gentleman," Kate smiled, tugging her oversized purse onto her shoulder and starting the trek up the walkway.  
"Are you complaining?"  
"Not in the least. It's been a long time since anyone doted upon me."  
"Well, prepare for five days of doting. Buckle your seatbelt."  
"Mmm. Maybe you should buckle it for me."  
"Cheeky," Tom chuckled. Wait. Was he flirting with her? Was she flirting with him? Maybe she was just being playful with her best friend. Maybe he was... UGH. This damned dream was ruining everything. He couldn't get out of his own damned head. That is until he heard the shriek he had prophesied come out of his mother.  
"YOU'RE HERE!" Diana exclaimed, opening her arms as the petite brunette practically slipped into them.  
Tom laughed as the two women waved back and forth in a giddy embrace. "Oh lord."  
"Oh my God. It's so good to see you. I'm so glad you decided to join us," Diana grinned, taking the girl's face in her hands. "You look ravishing, darling. Absolutely ravishing."  
"Thank you. I've missed you so much," Kate gleamed, hugging the woman who had basically been her own mother growing up.  
"Well just because you're fighting with this twit doesn't mean you're fighting with me. You're welcome here always," Diana stated. She then turned her attention to her much taller than her son. "You goof. How're you feeling?"  
"I'm fine, Mum," Tom insisted as Diana moved out of their embrace and began turning his face, giving him a good once over. "Stop it. I'm fine. I slept all night, didn't wake up until ten this morning..."  
"And you've eaten?"  
"Kate and I ordered in last night and I had porridge and some fruit this morning. I'm. Fine."  
Diana looked back to Kate. "Thank you. For taking care of this one time and time again."  
"Someone has to. He'd probably die if left to his own devices," Kate said, winking at Tom over Diana's head.  
"You know, I'm not as useless as you two seem to think," Tom stated as the girls walked arm in arm up ahead. He took a grasp back on the luggage and followed quickly.  
"Of course not, darling. You carry the luggage!"  
Tom laughed and shook his head as the three headed toward the car. Despite the constant ribbing he was in for, he was more that certain there was nowhere else he wanted to be. 

After the trio arrived back at the house, there was a round of "hellos" and a quick catching up, but mostly, it was a scramble to get ready for Christmas Eve Mass. There was Tom, Kate, Emma and her husband, Diana, Tom's older sister Sarah, her husband and Tom's young niece, Maya and only two bathrooms.  
After Mass was another story. Everyone changed into a more comfortable ensemble and settled in to a gigantic family dinner. There were drinks and laughs and stories and carols and it was the Christmas the world wrote stories about. Kate hadn't been this comfortable or happy in a long, long time.  
After dinner the girls found themselves in the midst of the living room floor playing dolls while the men drank scotch and smoked cigars outside. As everything wound down, Diana took a seat in the sofa next to her son. She smiled as they both watched the girls intently. Maya was the only child, but one never would've known from Kate, Sarah and Emma brushing hair and dressing dolls in a number of different ensembles.  
"You haven't taken your eyes off her all night," Diana beamed.  
"Hmm?" Tom asked, turning toward his mother with high, quizzically arched eyebrows.  
"Kate. You haven't looked away for more than about three minutes at a time."  
"Mum," Tom scolded, rolling his eyes. "Don't start that."  
"Oh darling. It started the second you two met. You've always been soulmates."  
"Well someone should've told me. Would've saved me a lot of trouble," Tom said softly, running his index finger over the rim of the glass in his lap.  
"Mm, sometimes the journey to realization is half the fun."  
Tom snorted in defiance. "This last year hasn't been much fun for either of us if you recall."  
"But look at you now," Diana stated, rubbing her arm down her son's back. Tom smiled weakly. "Does she know?"  
"Know what?"  
"How you feel?"  
"No," Tom answered, "because I don't even know how I feel. We just started speaking again. Maybe it's just...the emotion from all of that. Maybe I'm just genuinely happy to have my friend back. Maybe it's nothing else."  
"Thomas, don't be silly. You've been in love with that girl since University. If not before."  
"She doesn't know," Tom stated, shaking his head. "She never knew. I never told her."  
"You what? Tom, how..."  
"No. She never had any idea. I just...went a long with what she wanted and in the long run, apparently that wasn't me."  
"How do you know if you never said anything?" Diana asked.  
Tom's broad shoulders shrugged heavily. "I don't, I guess. I just assumed. I mean she was with Duncan an awfully long time."  
"She's been with you longer." Diana rose to her feet and planted a kiss on her son's worried forehead. "I'm off to bed. Goodnight, darling."  
"Night, Mum," Tom said with a smile and a sigh.  
It wasn't real long before the rest of the family began dishing out their goodnights as well.  
"I should go change," Kate said with a yawn. "My stuff's in your room."  
"No, no. It's yours. I've got the sofa," Tom argued.  
"Nonsense!" Kate exclaimed. "I'm not kicking you out of your own bedroom!"  
"Kate, really..."  
"Guys, you can BOTH sleep in there," Emma interrupted as she cleaned up the remaining few dishes. "Stop acting like you've never slept in the same bed before."  
Kate laughed as Emma disappeared. "Well she's not wrong."  
"No, no she isn't."  
"Well come on, chum. Slumber party it is."  
Tom smiled at the girl and headed for the stairs, however, the second her back turned, his smile faded and his strong jaw tightened. This was a horrible idea. His head was already a mess. Crawling into bed next to her was definitely not going to help that.  
"Kate, we don't..."  
"Oh stop it," Kate scolded as she walked into the bedroom. "Emma's right. It's not a big deal. We used to share a bed nearly every night, remember?"  
"Yes I do remember. Quite clearly." Too clearly as a matter of fact. Tom watched as the girl kept her back to him and brazenly just whipped off her top. The gentleman he was looked away, immediately, but it didn't stop is heart from doing flips. She was so open, no inhibitions and absolutely no idea of the thoughts in his brain at the moment. She was so clueless that he was certain there was no way she could possibly feel the same.  
"I, um... I..." Tom stammered. Apparently he'd also lost the ability to compose a sentence.  
Kate pulled on a long grey shirt, magically unhooked her bra and slipped it off, and wriggled out of her jeans without flashing so much as an inch of scandalousness. Finally she turned to face him, finding him flushed and uncomfortable. "Tom, what's wrong with you?"  
"What? Nothing. What d'you mean?"  
"You're looking at me weird," Kate chuckled. "Did I do something?"  
"No. No," Tom argued, waving his head back and forth, but still not looking her in the eye. "I just...I really think...I think maybe..."  
"Tom, what? Spit it out."  
"I have to go. I can't. I have to sleep downstairs. I'm sorry." Tom quickly grabbed a quilt from the end of the bed and made a beeline for the door. "I'm sorry," he said again. "I'll see you in the morning."  
"Tom, hold on..." Kate began, stunned. But Tom was already out the door and down the stairs, as fast as his long legs could carry him and Kate was left very, very confused.


	5. Chapter 5

"Wake up!"   
Tom was shaken awake by a hard kick to the sofa he was peacefully dozing on. It had taken awhile to fall asleep. Questioning the way he'd darted out on her, questioning pretty much every decision he'd ever made in the span of their relationship. Then, once his tired eyes finally decided to close, there was another dream. Another about her. This time they were together and married and had a baby and the perfect happy life he had always envisioned for himself. Maybe the kick to the couch wasn't such a horrid thing.   
"Good morning to you too," Tom said groggily, cracking open one single blue eye to find Emma standing above him, arms folded across her chest and a non too pleased look on her face.   
"What in the bloody hell are you doing?" she snapped instantly.   
"Well, I WAS sleeping," Tom answered, running his eye and sitting up.   
"Why are you down here?"  
"Because there's only one bed upstairs..."  
"And?"  
"And it's insanely awkward for me right now, okay Em? I can't deal with everything rushing through my head. I'm confused and...I just need to think, okay?"   
Emma scoffed. "How can you possibly be confused?" she asked. "You've been in love with her since before you even knew what the word meant. Why won't you just admit it?"  
"Because it's not that simple!"  
"It really is, Tom."   
"No!" Tom cried. "The last time I nearly confessed all, I got my heart ripped out and she nearly married that tosser." He paused and took a deep breath. "Em, look, I know you and mum and pretty much everyone else on this planet want this to happen, but it just isn't that easy. I wish it were, I do. But a lot has happened between us. A lot in the last year alone. And honestly, I'm not sure I'm willing to risk it. I'm just not."   
"Tom," Emma sighed, taking a seat next to her big brother and brushing a hand on his blanket covered leg. "I know it's been rough. I know things were strained between the two of you for a long time. But Kate is HERE. She never left. She may have gotten quiet, but she didn't go anywhere. I think that says pretty much everything you need to know."   
Tom smiled weakly. "But what if things hadn't ended? What if I would have let this go on even longer? I completely let things get out of hand and the last thing I want to do is push her away again."   
"Tom, don't do that. Don't punish yourself anymore. She's forgiven you. It's your turn now."   
"I'm daft enough I nearly lost her forever...and if she doesn't feel the same or if...this is all just...gratefulness to have her back and I hurt her again...I'll never forgive myself. And neither will she."   
"But you don't have to worry about that."   
"How do you figure?" Tom chuckled.   
Emma leaned in close and whispered "Because I can see the way you look at each other."   
Tom laughed again as Emma got up and headed into the kitchen. As his eyes followed her, they landed on the brunette standing next to his mother who just happened to be staring at him. He smiled at her. Kate, donning an enormous sweatshirt and thick, black framed glasses smiled back and he knew he had to apologize for his disappearance the night before.   
"Morning honey!" his mother chirped as he strode into the kitchen. "Merry Christmas!"   
"Happy Christmas," Tom chuckled as he stopped and Diana planted a peck on his cheek. "Where's Maya? She can't be still sleeping!"   
"She is," Sarah laughed, popping a strawberry into her mouth.   
"At seven fifteen Christmas morning?" Tom questioned, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "That's unheard of!"   
"That's what I said!" Emma explained. "We were up by six!"   
"HmMmm," Diana hummed, waving her head back and forth. "Try quarter passed five."   
As his mother and sisters continued reminiscing, Tom headed over to the silent, but smiling Kate, sipping on a mug of coffee nearly as big as her head. "Morning," he said, leaning against the counter. "Can I steal you for a second?"   
"Of course," Kate answered and the duo headed into the sunroom just off the kitchen. It was chilly, but far more private than the kitchen would've been. "Sleep well?"   
"You know, that couch isn't quite as comfortable as I had recalled," Tom answered with a grin.   
"Well, I don't remember banishing you to the sofa..."   
Tom pursed his lips into a tight smile and nodded. "Indeed you did not. About that..."  
"When did you start finding me so appalling?" Kate questioned. "We've shared a bed roughly a million times before and you never ran off like I had the plague."   
"Stop it," Tom laughed. "That has nothing to do with anything."   
"I mean, you used to find me at least moderately attractive...or so I thought. Or were those five years just utterly sickening for you?"  
"Would you stop it?" Tom laughed. "You know that is quite obviously not the case."   
"I mean, seriously...no one has ever literally RUN away from me before. It's like you're preparing for a marathon or something..."   
"Kate!" Tom explained. The girl hid her hands in her giant sleeves and giggled as she sipped on the kitten covered mug in her hands. "Oh I get it. You're messing with me. That's...that's great. Peeeerfect."   
Kate giggled even louder. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."   
"No, no. I don't think you are," Tom chuckled, squirming away as Kate tried to loop an arm around his. "You're not sorry at all."   
"Not particularly," Kate agreed as Tom finally quit moving and let her wrap her arms around his torso. As she squeezed tightly, he nuzzled the top of her head. His breath was warm and it made her smile. "Don't worry about last night. It's fine, darling. We both had a few drinks. Historically that leads to some...risky places for us."   
"Well, we are both single again..."  
Kate groaned and shook her head. "I cannot do the casual hookup crap again. I am far too old for that."   
Tom took a deep, yet hated breath. He wanted to argue with it. That "casual" relationship was never what he wanted and it certainly wasn't now at thirty five years old. But just as he opened his mouth to speak, there was a rapping at the window and Diana appeared, waving them inside.   
"Oh it's time!" Kate exclaimed. "Presents!"   
"And what makes you think you get any?" Tom chuckled. "I'm not sure you were on the nice list this year."   
"Oh please. I'm a perfect angel," Kate retorted. "Besides, I know you far better than to think you didn't get me anything."  
He laughed again and followed her indoors. She was right. She did know him better than that.

"There's one more!" Maya shouted, practically crawling under the enormous, beautifully decorated tree to retrieve a small, perfectly square box.   
"Who's it for, darling?" Diana asked, prodding her granddaughter to read the box.   
"Aunt Katey!" Maya exclaimed, running toward the unsuspecting brunette.   
Kate appeared confused. She was already buried under a pile of presents. Scarf and mittens, a beautiful book from Tom, trinkets and candies galore. She certainly wasn't expecting anything else. "What?" she asked with a laugh as the girl plopped the package into her lap. She turned to Tom, a mischievous smirk strewn on his chiseled jaw. "What did you do?"   
"Me?!" Tom cried feigning innocence as Maya climbed into his lap. "I bet it's from Santa."   
Kate rolled her eyes. "You are insufferable."   
"Just open it!" Maya squealed through giggles as Tom poked and tickled at her.   
"Yeah! Just open it!" Tom agreed.   
Kate laughed and shook her head, but obeyed. She delicately removed the perfect red bow before scratching at the tape.   
"Jesus. Has no one taught you how to open a present before?" Tom teased. "Just rip into it!"   
"Shut up, you," Kate commanded. "You definitely didn't wrap this. You're bollocks at wrapping."   
"I told you: it's from Santa," Tom stated. "And I'm really not that bad."   
Kate smirked and finally opened the palm sized box to find a ring with two keys and a tag attached, nestled on crisp, white crepe paper. "What is this?" she asked with a chuckle. "You get me a car?"   
"God no. You're bollocks at driving," Tom grinned, mocking her previous comment. Kate scowled and he laughed. "Read the tag, silly."   
Kate did as instructed. "Forty Two South Welling..." Her voice trailed off and tears began to build in the corners of her sparkling dark eyes. "Thomas, you didn't."   
"I did," Tom smiled brightly. "It's all yours. All you've got to do is sign the papers."   
"Shut up," Kate commanded. "I can't take this!"   
"You can and you will," Tom insisted with a chuckle. "I surely have no use for it."   
"What is it?" Maya asked, leaning into Kate's space. "It's just keys!"   
"Yes, darling. It's keys," Tom answered. "But, they are keys to the shop Aunt Kate wanted to buy last Christmas. Some things happened and she never got around to it. So I did it for her."   
"You bought her a shop?"   
"I bought her the building. She'll have to turn it into the shop."   
"Can I see it?"   
"I promise you, the next time you visit me in London, Aunt Katey and I will take you there, deal?" Tom asked, sticking his pinky finger out to the girl.   
"Deal!" Maya smiled, looping her finger around her uncle's and shaking.   
"Maya, come darling. Give Uncle Tom a minute, alright?" Sarah waved her daughter over and the family, despite wanting to hear the forthcoming conversation, left the room.   
Tom's blue eyes drifted to Kate, still teary eyed, still silent, and still staring at the keys. "You alright?"   
Kate shook her head rapidly as she gulped down the ball of emotion in her throat. "No... no. Thomas, why? Why would you do that?"  
"Because it's your dream, Kate. You should have your dream," Tom stated softly, sliding closer to the girl. "It's all you've ever talked about."   
"I know but... it just...I didn't..."  
"I knew after...everything that happened surrounding your original plan, that you had given up. I knew you'd never do it for yourself so now...now you don't have any choice. And I'll be here to help you all the way through. And Dana. And Nik. They're still onboard."   
"Tom, I can't..."   
"Yes, you can, Kate," Tom insisted. He placed his hands on her cheeks and his thumbs gently brushed the tears from under her eyes. "You deserve everything you want in this world."   
Kate looked up at him. "You didn't have to."   
"I wanted to. There's a difference," Tom stated before pressing his lips to her forehead. He held them there for a moment before resting his forehead against hers. "Do you remember the night you told me that all you wanted was your own little tea shop? Walls of books for your customers to read, a tiny stage in the corner so local musicians could play..."  
Kate laughed and pulled back from him. "We were laying on a blanket in the lawn at university. Just staring up at the stars."   
Tom nodded. "Mhmm. Your flat mate was...well busy..."   
"When wasn't she?" Kate scoffed. "We were talking about what our perfect world would be like. I wanted my shop and you...you wanted to move to America. Los Angeles."  
Tom nodded. "I did. But...I think I said I wanted to take you with me."   
Kate sniffed a laugh. "And I told you I didn't want to live in snooty old California, but..."   
"But you'd do it for me," Tom finished.   
"If I remember correctly...that's also, in fact, the first time you kissed me."   
"No!" Tom said, shaking his head. "No, no. It was that night, but you definitely kissed me."   
"Oh nonsense!" Kate shouted, bouncing off her seat a bit. "I would have never!"   
"You make it sound so scandalous," Tom laughed.   
"No, not because of that. I was too petrified. I'd been in love with you my entire life. You were my best friend but I doodled our names on all of my schoolbooks. You were...the unattainable. There's no way I would've made a move. I was far too much of a chicken."   
"Stop!" Tom commanded, his face scrunching up a bit. "Since when? You never said anything."   
"Of course not! I saw the girls you dated. I wasn't that...level."   
"Oh what're you saying?"  
"I'm saying that you, Tom Hiddleston, have a type and poor old plain Kate certainly was never it."   
"Knock it off. You're not plain. You never have been."   
"Maybe not now, but I developed a good two years after every other girl. And you tended to like the more...developed ones..."   
"You really make me sound like a dick..."   
"Not at all..."  
"And for your information, that night, IF I did kiss you, it was only because I wanted to and had wanted to for a very long time."   
"What?"   
"Yeah. Yeah. You weren't the only one with a little crush okay?" Tom retorted. "Not to mention, the entire time we were...whatever we were, I wanted a real relationship. I just never said anything because I thought YOU didn't."   
"Are you kidding? You could've asked me to marry you that night and I would've died of sheer joy," Kate stated. "I thought you wanted to still date other people. The only reason I even started talking to Duncan was because I saw you with Shelly Cartwright at that party."   
"What party?" Tom asked.   
"That stupid toga party David threw..."   
"Oh THAT party. Yeah I was completely legless that night," Tom remembered with a laugh.   
"You were. And you had your arm all around Shelly and you were talking like an inch from her face and I...was...heartbroken."  
"You were not."   
"Was so! That's when Duncan swooped in. He found me out on the porch crying into my rum punch."   
"You were crying? I made you cry?"   
"Oh it wasn't the first time. Nor the last."   
"Well that makes me feel absolutely zero percent better," Tom stated. "We're ridiculous. Think of all the time and heartache and bullshit we could've saved if we had just been honest with each other from the get go. I mean...the night you told me about Duncan...I was going to tell you that I didn't want to mess around anymore. That I wanted us to be real. I had this...elaborate plan. I wrote and practiced this speech and everything. And then you came in, chirping about this other fellow and I couldn't. I couldn't do it. You seemed so happy and I didn't want to take that away from you."   
"Tom..." Kate began softly, resting her hand on his forearm. "You should've. I would've told him to go to hell right then and there."   
"Really?" Tom asked. Kate smiled and nodded. "See? Yet another mistake I've made. I just sat there. Every time he hurt you, every time he made you cry, and I regretted it more and more and I still never said anything."   
"It's not your fault."   
"No, I know that," Tom insisted. "But if I had...maybe we'd be living and entirely different life right now."   
"Perhaps. But would that have been what you wanted?"   
"What d'you mean?"  
"Tom, I know you. If we had ended up together, you never would've gone to LA. You never would've been Loki or met Spielberg or done half of the incredible things you've done. I never would've wanted to hold you back like that."   
"Yeah and we never would've gone six months without so much as a single word," Tom stated. He stood up and began to pace, running his hands through his messy hair.   
"You don't know that. Maybe we would've gone through some horrible, ugly breakup and we'd despise each other right now."   
"Or perhaps we'd be married with a whole house full of kids."   
Kate laughed. "I know that's what thirty five year old Tom wants from life, but I don't think twenty year old Tom was ready for all that."   
"I don't know," Tom said with a shrug. "I'm starting to wonder if I've focused on all the wrong things."  
"No. Of course you haven't," Kate reassured. "Look at you. Your career is racing. You've done so well, Tom. I've never been more proud of anyone."  
"Thank you," Tom smiled. "Sorry. As you can see I'm currently questioning every decision I've ever made."   
"I've noticed," Kate chuckled. "Is that what last night always about? Is that why you got all weird?"   
Tom took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Yeah," he nodded. "Yeah it was."   
Kate sighed and smiled, climbing to her feet and walking toward her best friend. "Look," she began, brushing her hand against his scruffy cheek. Tom leaned into her touch and soaked in every second. "You can't change anything. Standing here, regretting things, that isn't going to do anything but stress you out. I'm here. You're here and we're obviously where we are meant to be. What happens after this? Well, that's up to us."   
Suddenly Emma's voice erupted from the kitchen. "Kate! Tom! Breakfast!"  
Tom sighed. "We're being summoned."   
"Good. It was getting rather deep in here," Kate winked. "Come on, handsome."   
Tom watched as Kate started toward the kitchen. "Kate..."  
"Yes, darling?" she asked, turning back.   
"So...that door...the one we keep almost going through," Tom said with a coy smirk. "Is that door closed then?"   
"Oh sweetie," Kate smiled, "a door can always be opened. Broken down if nothing else."   
Tom laughed as she smirked and disappeared into the kitchen. He wasn't certain, but it almost sounded as if she was feeling the same as he was...


	6. Chapter 6

"He bought you...a fucking...building," Dana said, slowly enunciating every single syllable she spoke. "And not just any building, oh no, the building you dreamed about, the building you toured and leased and loved more than anything in this world. Kate, how much grander a gesture do you need?"  
"I don't need any gesture," Kate said with a sign and a whine. "I don't want to complicate things. I don't want complicated. I want simple."  
"When was the last time anything between the two of you was simple?" Dana asked with a scoff.  
"That's the problem. I WANT them to be. All of this is just...confusing. I don't like it."  
"Katey," Dana said in an almost scolding tone. She could see the overwhelmed, racing a mile a minute wheels turning inside her best friend's head. "What're you gonna do? Tell him to take it back?"  
"It's a thought."  
"Kate! No! You can't! He'd be devastated!"  
Kate groaned some unintelligible sounds and stomped a bit. "I just don't know what to do. This feels like a lot. A lot a lot. And it's really fast. I mean, we've barely begun speaking again and we instantly rush off to family Christmas and then he buys me a shop and then he confesses these deep feelings he's apparently had..."  
"Wait, what?" Dana interrupted. "You conveniently forgot to mention that part."  
"I wasn't talking about feelings NOW. He meant a long time ago. When we were at school."  
"Um...he just dropped an incredibly large sum of money just to make you happy. Kate, he's still in love with you."  
"Stop it."  
"No, Kate, you stop!" Dana commanded with a laugh. "God! You two are the absolute worst. You've spent so long lying to yourselves that you're both blinder than a damned bat. He's finally fucking realizing it! He's ready to admit it!"  
"Well maybe I don't want him to admit anything."  
"What are you talking about? You've been enamored with him your entire life. Now that he's finally woken up, you don't want him? Get real."  
"Okay, yeah. Yeah I have been in love with him my entire life. Look at him. How could I not be? He's perfect. He's the absolute perfect specimen of a man. He's kind and charming and sweet and intelligent and handsome and I planned our wedding and named our kids when I was fifteen damned years old." Kate paused and leaned closer to her friend. "But that was all in my head. It wasn't real. It was fake and nonthreatening and I cast out all hope of it happening long, long ago."  
"Katherine, you're terrified. I get it..."  
"No, you don't," Kate argued. Her voice had a bit of a bite, though it wasn't intended. "I have been doing this back and forth thing with him for years. We're sort of dating, then we're not. He's hot and then he's cold. He's in and then he meets some stupid pop star at some stupid party in stupid New York and I'm left piecing together my heart again..."  
"Wait. Did something happen before he met Skankface?" Dana asked as everything behind her friend's trepidation suddenly began to make sense. Kate remained silent. "Katey. What happened?"  
Kate sighed. She had never said anything to anyone and she hadn't exactly intended to. She mostly blamed herself for taking Tom more seriously than she should've. She should've learned her lesson long before. "I mean, we weren't really anything," Kate stated.  
"No, no. Do not protect him. What did he do?"  
Kate rolled her eyes and sighed. "We were...messing around again...like we always do and I don't know. I thought that it felt different. I thought that it meant something and I was apparently wrong. One day he's kissing me goodbye as he leaves for the airport and the next thing I know he's all over the Internet dancing with the world renowned Black Widow of Pop Music and it all went to shit from there."  
"That son of a bitch..." Dana cursed under her breath. "I knew it! I knew something was going on with you two! I tried to tell Nik! He wouldn't listen."  
"We didn't tell anyone. At all. Unless we were alone, we were just friends."  
"You've never been just friends," Dana argued. "God I wanna kill him."  
Kate chuckled. "Don't. It's not worth it. I should've known better."  
"No! No, HE should've known better."  
"It's not his fault okay? It's mine. I let things get out of hand..."  
"No, Kate, you didn't. Have you called him out? You need to call him on his shit."  
"No. No I don't. Right now he thinks I'm what he wants but next week it'll be someone else. His attention will divert soon, its fine. I promise. He'll find another one of his little wisps and it'll all be over and I can go back to just being his friend."  
"No! No Kate! That's not fair!" Dana exclaimed. "He doesn't get to do this to you! He doesn't get to turn you on and off like a fucking light switch! You're better than that!"  
"I know. But it's not worth the fight. It's really not."  
"He's why you've never moved on. He's why you've never dated anyone..."  
"Okay I've gone on dates, thank you..."  
"Not seriously. Not in almost a year. I thought it was Duncan but it's him! He's almost more fucked up than that Irish twat!"  
"I don't even think he knows what he's doing. It's not on purpose. It's just how things are."  
"Well it can't be anymore. You deserve so much better than being someone's backup plan, Kate. He's a fucking dick."  
"He's not and you know that," Kate argued.  
"I'm gonna kill him."  
"Dana, stop," Kate laughed. "You're overreacting."  
"You need to talk to him. You need to figure out just what in the hell he's up to this time."  
"I really don't."  
"No, you really do," Dana argued. "You need to tell him to shit or get off the pot. It's now or never. He either makes a real go of it..."  
"That's not what he wants."  
"You don't know that because you've never made him make that choice."  
"Ugh!" Kate groaned, shoving her face into the back of her sofa and screaming. "Why? Why did all of this shit have to start again? Why can't we just have a normal relationship?"  
"Because you're not fucking normal people," Dana chuckled as a buzzer rang out from the intercom on the wall. "Lunch already?"  
Kate appeared as confused as her companion. "No. I set it for 12:30." She got up and tugged down her creeping yoga pants before jogging toward the intercom. "Who's it?"  
"Tom. You busy?"  
Kate's eyes widened and she spun to face Dana. "What the fuck."  
"Think his ears were on fire?" Dana asked with a laugh.  
"Seriously," Kate hissed. She pressed a firmly manicured red nail into the call button. "Come on up." She then hit the buzzer to allow him access. It would take Tom a few minutes to arrive at the door from downstairs. Thankfully, because Kate was in a bit of a panic. "Oh gooood..."  
"What? What's he doing here?"  
"No. I told him to come over so he could try on our costumes for Nik's stupid New Years party. Damn!"  
"You're going together?" Dana asked, an eyebrow cocked to the sky.  
"Of course we're going together. We go everywhere together. Fuck!" Kate shouted. "I'm not ready to see him right now."  
"You should probably try breathing," Dana chuckled.  
"Yeah, yeah, sod off," Kate snapped.  
It seemed like a mere second before there was a knock at the door. Kate silently cursed and kicked and freaked out like a child being punished before she took a deep breath and flung open the door. "Hey," she said, forcing a smile.  
"Hey. Did I interrupt?" Tom asked with a chuckle.  
"No. Why?"  
"You just...sound like you're in the middle of something," Tom stated, shutting the door behind him as he headed for the living room. "Oh hello, Dana."  
"Hey yourself," Dana said with a halfhearted wave.  
"I am...I'm gonna run upstairs. I'll bring the costume down," Kate said with a smile. Without a response or even acknowledgement, she all but ran for the staircase in the dining room.  
Tom had an uneasy feeling and the second Kate was gone, he turned to Dana. "Okay spill. What did I do now?"  
Dana shook her head." Don't know what you mean."  
"Right. You won't even look at me and she is all over the map. I'm not stupid."  
"Beg to differ."  
"Alright, seriously? If you're going to sling insults you could at least tell me why," Tom stated. "I mean come on. You know she's not going to say anything. She'll just let whatever this is fester and grow until she hates me and kills me in my sleep."  
"You'd deserve it."  
"That's probably true, but why?" Tom asked. "Please, Dana."  
Dana growled and sighed heavily. "What're you doing?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"I mean with Kate. Are you just friend or are you trying to date her because your signals are...incredibly mixed right now."  
Tom was surprised by Dana's question. It had knocked him for a bit of a loop and he was trying to compose something at least moderately coherent. "I um...I don't know at the moment, honestly..."  
"Well you need to fucking figure it out," Dana commanded. "Because I don't know if you know this, but she's getting pretty sick of your little fucking yoyo game."  
"I'm not playing games, Dana. I wouldn't do that to her."  
"Maybe not on purpose," Dana stated with a shrug as she rose from the armchair she'd occupied since she arrived at ten that morning. "But every time you're single, you run to her. You use her to placate having a girlfriend because she gives you that attention and affection that you apparently desperately need. And she'll continue to do it, because she loves you. Not as a friend, not as a brother. Tom, that girl is in love with you."  
"She is?" Tom asked, a bit of light shining in his eyes.  
"Of course she is and I'm getting pretty sick of watching you rip her heart out over and over and over again. So make up your fucking mind. Are you in or out? If you're in, Tom, you've got some work to do. She doesn't trust you, and she shouldn't. If you're in, you're all in. There's no running away on some overtly public world tour with the latest tart you meet at your celebrity gatherings. If you're in, you work your ASS off and you prove to that woman that you are the man she deserves. Because despite wanting to knock your head off right now, I know you are. I know somewhere in your stupid brain, you know EXACTLY what you've been doing to her. And you know it's not fair."  
"Dana..." Tom began.  
"No, I'm not finished," Dana snapped. "But if you decide that you are out, then you are COMPLETELY out. You get the fuck out. No more Netflix and cuddling, no more making out when no one else is watching, no more holding her hand or buying her extravagant gifts, none of it. If she is not your girlfriend then you do not treat her like she is and then go running off when something better comes along. She's not a place holder, Tom. She's a girl that has loved you since the dawn of time. She's a girl that worships you from the very depths of her soul...and she deserves better than the bullshit you've been giving her."  
Tom gulped. He had absolutely no idea what to say. It wasn't until this very moment that he'd even realized how poorly he'd been behaving. He had never meant to her Kate or lead her in or anything, but there he stood, knowing he was indeed guilty of everything Dana had just said. "I, um, I never realized..."  
"I know that. And so does she," Dana stated, "but now you DO know and it needs to change. Because I swear to god, Tom, you hurt her again I will destroy you in ways you couldn't even possibly imagine."  
Tom's blue eyes widened. "I do not doubt that."  
"Good, because you really don't want to try me," Dana stated, her voice falling to a whisper as she heard Kate's footsteps pounding down the stairs.  
Soon the girl in question appeared round the corner, carrying in her arms a homemade suit of armor. She and Tom had been invited to a costume party for New Years. The theme: Movie couples. Tom had left it up to Kate to decide and she had picked Romeo and Juliet, but not just any Romeo and Juliet. Oh no, Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes as Romeo and Juliet. She'd fashioned a pair of angel wings and a dress for herself and then constructed Tom's armor. But as she re-entered the room, she realized that the party was the last thing on anyone's mind. The look on Tom's face, the stiffness in Dana's body. Kate had definitely walked right into something major.  
"What'd I miss?" she questioned, lying the pile of fabric and plastic fashioned as metal on the counter. She wasn't sure she even wanted the answer but it was too obvious to not even inquire about.  
"Nothing," Dana said with a weak smile as she headed toward her friend. "I'm going to head out. You two need to talk."  
"Dana, wait..." Kate pleaded.  
"Let her go," Tom spoke up. "She's right."  
The pink haired fireball embraced a very confused Kate tightly. "It's all good. Call me later."  
"Alright..." Kate responded.  
"See ya, Hiddles."  
"Bye, Dana," the somber movie star responded.  
Kate, eyes near bugging out of her head, watched her front door close behind Dana's back before turning her attention to Tom. "What happened? What did she say to you?"  
"Have I been leading you on the last thirty years?"  
Kate was taken aback by his bluntness. "Dammit, Dana," she whispered. "Tom, listen..."  
"No," Tom said, shaking his head as he turned to face her. "Just answer the question, please."  
"I mean, I don't know..."  
"You DO know, Kate. Do you feel that in our...relationship...I have misled you? That I haven't made my intentions clear? At any point in time."  
"I mean... I guess, a bit," Kate answered, her hands fidgeting and the souls of her slippers bouncing uncomfortably off the floor. "Not like all the time..."  
"When?"  
Kate gulped. "Right before you met her. I thought that perhaps..."  
Tom's jaw went slack and his blue eyes darted to the vaulted ceiling. "Holy shit. No wonder you got so upset..."  
"I mean it wasn't all because of that..."  
"No but it had to be a decent portion," Tom interrupted. "Jesus, Kate. Why didn't you say anything?"  
"I don't know. Maybe the same reason you didn't say anything when I showed up talking about Duncan," Kate snapped. "You don't get to mad at me about this, Thomas. You don't."  
"I'm not. Kate, I'm not mad," Tom insisted. He took a deep breath. In through the nose, out through the mouth, that's how it went right? "Please, please tell me that you know I never set out to hurt you."  
"Of course I do, Tom. Don't be silly."  
"I didn't even realize...how could I be so stupid?" Tom wondered with a chuckle. "Here I thought we were just...back to our old ways and...you thought..."  
"It's fine, Tom. Don't worry about it," Kate assured, playing with the costume she had made.  
"I am going to worry about it, Kate. I hurt you. That isn't alright," Tom stated. He reached across the counter and rested his hand on the fidgeting hand of the girl in front of him. "I'm sorry."  
Kate nodded, not bringing her eyes up to look at him. "I know."  
Tom gulped. "I have always, ALWAYS cared about you. Deeply, Katey. You have to know that. And yes, after you and Duncan split and before I met...she who should apparently not be named, I debated us. I debated what I really wanted. I feel so comfortable with you, in every way, shape and form. And I thought about perhaps making things...a bit more...official but...you...I never got the vibe that you wanted more and I didn't want to freak you out so I just...I just decided to bury it again, I guess."  
"You never got 'the vibe'?" Kate asked, using her fingers to draw quotes in the air. "Are your feelers broken?" Tom couldn't help but chuckle. "Jesus, Tom, even if I had married Duncan, you could've still had me. I would've run out of that wedding before he ever had the chance had you said even one word."  
"Really?" Tom asked, an childlike, shy grin on his face.  
"Yes, really, you idiot. And that's no way of entering a marriage! Knowing that if your best friend confessed his love that you'd disappear in an instant! I've never met anyone that I'd place over you. Every date I even make an attempt to go on ends with 'Well he's nice, but he's no Tom.' It's disgusting!" Kate exclaimed. "It's really sad and incredibly...worrisome. I really probably need therapy."  
"Stop it," Tom commanded. "You do not."  
"No I think I do. I think we both do because obviously our communication skills are severely lacking."  
"You're not wrong there," Tom agreed with a scoff. He paused, and any remnants of a smile went away as he looked at the girl again. "I don't want to hurt again, Kate. Not ever. Not in any way."  
"I know, Tom. And I don't want to hurt you...or get hurt again. It just seems to be the vicious cycle of what we do to each other."  
"So how do we change it?" Tom asked with a shrug, a shrug that moved his entire 6'2" frame. "Because...I'm not going to lie, the second I landed back here. Fuck, every second since our fight this summer I have thought about nothing but you. Absolutely nothing. You are...constantly on my mind whether I'm awake or a sleep. Whether it's...a dream or just some fantastical day dream. I cannot get you out of my head. And I'm not saying that as a friend. Or as a guy you've known your entire life. I'm saying that as man who suddenly has realized every mistake he's made. All the words I should've said. All the things I should've done differently. All the chances I've wasted because I was too stupid or blind to even speak up. Every time I close my eyes, you're there, Kate."  
Kate smiled sweetly, softly. She could feel her heartbeat in her throat. "Thomas..."  
"I am...so scared...of ruining what we already have. I am terrified of pursuing this further and either one or both of us getting hurt again," he paused and laughed. "But I'm also afraid that if I don't give this my all, that I'll live the rest of my life wondering what could've been. And I honestly can't think of a more miserable existence."  
Kate gulped. This was beginning to feel like a scene out of some horridly cheesy romance novel and despite her best attempts not to, she was getting wrapped up in every word, every single syllable he spoke. "What're you saying, Tom?"  
Tom shook his head. "I'm saying...I'm saying I want this. I want us, but after all the damage that I've done, it's not really my choice any longer, is it?" Kate just stared at him in silence. He took a breath, then stepped around the corner, directly in front of the girl, taking both of her trembling hands in his. "I love you, Kate. I always have and I always will. But if you...don't feel the same, I...I entirely understand."  
"Tom, I..."  
"Shh," Tom hushed, putting a finger to her lips. "I don't need an answer now, in fact, I don't deserve one. You have a lot to think about and I...I have a lot of proving myself to do. And I think that maybe, we should start there."  
"Okay..." Kate said softly.  
"No more hiding things from each other. I swear to you. No more burying our true feelings or not making our intent known. It's got to be completely different." Kate nodded in agreement. Tom smiled and reached up, brushing a few stray hairs from her eyes. "You have already given me more chances than I have ever deserved. I'm asking for one more. That is all I need and I promise you, I will do this right." Tom took a deep breath and dipped his head, planting a soft, sweet kissed on the silent girl's lips. He chuckled a bit, watching her still frozen, eyes closed as he pulled back. "I'm going to go."  
"What? Wait, why?"  
Tom smiled. "Because you can't rightly make this decision today. And if I'm around, I will only try to influence it to my advantage and that's not fair. So I'll go...for now..."  
"What about the party tomorrow?"  
"Oh I'll be there," Tom stated as he picked up the handmade costume he was supposed to wear the next evening. "I'm not cancelling that. I'll pick you up at seven thirty."  
"Okay..." Kate finally exhaled the breath she'd been holding for what seemed like eternity as Tom moved toward the door. "Thomas..."  
"Yes?" he asked, turning back.  
"How long do I have to decide?" she asked with a playful grin.  
Tom laughed. "Well, I do have some work to do. Perhaps a week?"  
"You think you can make up for everything in a week?"  
"I can damn sure try," Tom said with a bright grin. "If you have any concerns, questions, anything you want to yell at me about, you know how to get ahold of me. I'll see you tomorrow."  
"Bye," Kate said with a smile and a wave.  
"Goodbye, darling."  
With a door in between them, both parties stop and exhaled. Both, somewhat relived. Tom had finally been honest and while Kate's mind was racing a mile a minute, Tom couldn't wipe the grin from his stubbly face. Kate raced to find a phone to get Dana back as soon as possible. And Tom, Tom was trying to organize a plan...a process, anything that he could do win her over once and for all. And it all would begin the next day.


	7. Chapter 7

"Jesus Christ, I'm coming!" Kate shouted as she practically tripped down her stairs in an attempt to silence the unrelenting banging on her front door. It was barely eight thirty in the morning. She had just made coffee. She definitely hadn't showered or eaten breakfast and she had nearly fallen flat on her face when Lulu attempted to kill her in the kitchen.  
"Goddammit," she cursed under her breath as she finally made it to the door. If this was Tom's attempt to win her over, he'd better rethink his approach. But when she yanked open the door, it wasn't her blue eyed tall drink of water assaulting her eardrums. It was a much shorter drink. And a much more female one.  
"What are you doing here?" Kate asked, her voice dripping with annoyance as Dana pushed her way into the apartment. "Wait. How'd you even get in?"  
"Someone walked out so I walked in. Ooh! Coffee!" Dana exclaimed, spotting the French press on the counter.  
Kate cleared her throat, still agitated as she pushed the door shut. "You know that's not how this works, right? There's rules."  
"Yeah but they don't apply to me," Dana stated with a shrug. She grabbed a bagel and sat on a stool before finally, truly looking at her best friend. "Why the hell aren't you dressed?"  
"Dressed for what?" Kate asked with a scoff. "I just woke up. What do you want from me?" In her own opinion, she was dressed completely appropriately. A fluffy pink bathrobe, flannel pajama pants and slippers. What else does one wear at eight thirty in the morning?  
Dana laughed loudly. "You're joking right?"  
"About what?"  
"Tom didn't tell you?"  
"I haven't even spoken to him today, so no. He hasn't told me anything."  
"Well aren't you a joy in the morning?"  
Kate rolled her eyes. "Is there a point to your verbal assault?"  
"You need to get dressed because we have got a full day of shit ahead of us."  
"What kind of shit?"  
"Um, spa, massages, manis-pedis, hair, all that shit."  
"You're doing all of that?" Kate asked with a quizzically arched eyebrow and a laugh.  
"Okay, a) fuck you and b) Tom planned it. I'm just in charge of getting you there."  
"Why? Why would he do that?"  
"I don't know? Because he's a real life fucking prince and wants to spoil you?"  
"Oh come on. He knows me. When was the last time I got a massage?"  
"Uh, I think that's kind of the point," Dana stated, her mouth full of the cinnamon sugar bagel. "He knows you'd never do it for yourself so he's treating you."  
"I don't know."  
"Oh my god. Go get dressed and get your ass pampered, Jesus. Most girls would kill for this."  
"I'm not most girls."  
"No shit. Could you please go put some real pants on so we can go?"  
"I can't wear this?" Kate asked as she struck a taunting pose.  
"I will push you out of a moving car."  
"You don't have a car."  
"Theres a town car waiting downstairs. Go!"  
Kate mumbled under her breath but listened and headed for the stairs.  
"I heard you, young lady! Don't come back down here until you're ready to go!" Dana shouted after her. She then turned and slipped LuLu a piece of her bagel. "Your mama is a pain in the ass, Lu. A real pain in the ass." 

The second she was ready (or half ready by her standards) Kate was whisked out the door and shoved into the waiting black town car. It wasn't far from a limousine, only shorter, and had all the amenities, including champagne which the girls cracked into quite joyously the second they got in. Their stop would be Urban Retreat, a spa located on the fifth floor of Harrods department store. It had everything. Massages, facials, a nail salon, a sauna, even a café and the spa was under strict orders to give the ladies anything and everything they wanted for the next eight hours.  
"This is ridiculous," Dana stated, deepening her voice for emphasis. "Who the fuck are we?"  
"I'm starting to think this is the life I'm meant to lead," Kate laughed as the girls awaited their massages in their own private room. "My god."  
"This is crazy. I feel like a queen," Dana stated. "You know we're getting our hair and makeup done too, right?"  
Kate almost choked on the champagne she'd just taken a sip of. "Seriously?"  
"Yup. Tom told them 'everything'," Dana answered. "He basically rented out the entire place.  
"He is certifiable."  
"No. He's in love." Dana watched as Kate didn't say a single word, just flushed the pink of a neon sign and looked to the floor. "Hold on. You're not gonna argue it? Are you okay? What happened? What am I missing?"  
Kate laughed, the brightness of her cheeks calming to a more muted baby pink. "He said it. Last night. I mean, he's told me he loves me...numerous times, but I don't know. Last night it felt different. It felt..."  
"Real?"  
Kate smiled. "Yeah I suppose that's it. He said he loved me and he always will and...I melted."  
Dana was beaming triumphantly. Apparently their little talk had worked. "Of course you did. You've been waiting to hear those words your whole life," she stated. "God this is gonna be the quickest courtship ever. You guys will be wedding planning next week."  
"Quickest?" Kate chuckled. "Twenty years isn't quick. It's longer than most marriages. And we only started dating."  
"So you're actually dating?"  
"I don't know!" Kate exclaimed. "It's been like twelve hours! Relax!"  
"Um...if a dude did THIS for me, I'd marry him tomorrow. For real."  
Once again, Kate's cheeks were glowing. "He really did kind of knock it out of the park."  
"You're damn right he did." 

It was six pm. Guests were due at Searcy's in two hours and the girls had just arrived back at Kate's flat. Searcy's was an incredible location, situated on the top three floors of The Gherkin, an incredible skyscraper in the heart of London. The party, however, would take place on the very top floor, a dome encapsulated completely by glass, offering one of the best views in the city. Or anywhere really. Nik and his team had been preparing and decorating for the last forty eight hours, though much decoration wouldn't be needed. Even though the party goers would be enjoying a very private, very luxurious event, they would miss nothing as the new year fell upon England. Not one single firework.  
"I think I'm already drunk," Kate laughed as she returned from taking LuLu out.  
"We've been drinking champagne since fucking nine thirty. We both are," Dana chuckled, sinking into Kate's sofa.  
"Should we order dinner?"  
"I'm sure there's food there. Plus won't Tom be arriving soon?"  
"Mhmm. Hour or so."  
Kate's response had arrived at Dana's ears quite muffled which caused Dana to turn around and find her best friend standing belly up at her island counter, a piece of pizza hanging haphazardly from her mouth. She burst into a fit of giggles. "Are you really standing there with cold pizza hanging out of your mouth? After the fucking ritzy day we just had, you're going full frat boy?"  
"And?" Kate asked, mouth still full of her ham and pineapple pie from the night before.  
Dana was still snickering. "Tom is a lucky sum bitch ain't he?"  
"Fuck off," Kate laughed, crumbs of crust flying unnoticed from her mouth to the black granite countertop. "The man has seen me puke. Hell, he's held my hair WHILE I puked. He wouldn't care. He'd more likely chastise me about the choice of toppings."  
"Understandable. Fucking sicko."  
"Oh shut it," Kate commanded as she tossed the crust into the trash and made her way to the open end of the sofa. "You big babies can have your boring ol' plain pizza and I'll eat all the pineapple."  
"You know, you sound almost American when you're drunk. It's kinda cool."  
"Really?"  
"NO! You sound like the marble mouthed janitor from Harry Potter!"  
"Filch!"  
"Jesus you are a fucking nerd."  
"You act like this is a recent development," Kate said with a yawn. "Ugh. I feel like perhaps we shouldn't have had that last bottle."  
"Maybe we shouldn't have chugged it," Dana laughed, laying her head on the back of the sofa.  
Kate laughed but she could feel her eyelids getting heavy. She was determined to keep them open. After all, her knight in painted plastic armor would be arriving in no more than ninety minutes and she still needed to get dressed. "Yeah...we're wasted and haven't even gotten to the party."  
"It's fine," Dana yawned, mouth open as wide as a lion roaring. "I'll switch to liquor there. Plus someone's bound to have some coke."  
"Jesus."  
"I doubt he's invited. And he definitely won't bring the coke." 

Kate's eyes shot open as the intercom buzzed loudly. "Shit!" she screamed, realizing she and Dana had both passed out precisely after agreeing to in fact not pass out. Now it was nearly two hours later and Tom had arrived and neither was remotely ready to go. "Dana! Wake up!"  
"Hmm? What?" Dana asked groggily, wiping a bit of drool from the corner of her mouth.  
"Tom's here! We're late!"  
"Oh fuck!" Dana shouted, lurching into action. "Go change! I'll let him in!"  
Kate hit the buzzer to allow Tom entrance and bolted to the stairs so fast Dana barely heard the "thank you!" she shouted.  
"Ugh. Shit. Clothes," Dana said aloud as she searched for the bag containing her costume. By the time she found it, Tom was knocking on the front door so she scurried that way and threw it open so hard it almost smacked back in his face. "We fell asleep! Sorry! We're late!"  
Tom laughed as Dana all but ran away. "It's fine. We don't have to be there the second it starts. Where's Ka..."  
"Upstairs! Changing! Back in a flash!" Dana exclaimed before grabbing her bag and bolting for the first floor bathroom.  
Tom just continued laughing and casually strolled in, finding a place to lean up against the kitchen counter. He was clean shaven, his reddish blonde curls slicked back and somewhat controlled. Every ounce of him was covered in the silver and grey suit of armor Kate had made and it fit him perfectly. In the car he had a masquerade mask she'd fashioned and a sword he had added himself, but he'd only need them when they arrived. He walked to the fridge, knowing Kate would have a beer he could sneak in before they left. They'd texted on and off throughout the day, so he was more than aware he had some catching up to do, but this would be their first real interaction since his confession the night before. To say he was nervous would've been the understatement of the century. What if she'd decided and was waiting to drop it on him? What if she didn't feel remotely the same any longer? He'd hoped the beer would calm his nerves. He took a swig and stooped down to play with LuLu a moment until he heard the footsteps hurrying down the stairs. Standing up, he turned and as Kate appeared from around the corner, every what if rushing through his head melted away.  
Kate stood before him, surrounded by an almost ethereal glow. Maybe it was her sparkly, perfectly constructed angel wings. Maybe it was the white dress, floor length and flowing, with long bell sleeves, and shoulders that were bare as was her décolletage, where a golden string of a necklace laid. Bits of lace were hidden around the garment along with a few muted rhinestones and sequins. Then again, maybe it was the way her chestnut hair laid in waves under the white and pink carnation crown atop her head. Maybe it was the deep Bordeaux color of her lips. Or hell, maybe it was as simple as her smile. Whatever it was, the sight of her had knocked the air from his lungs and, more importantly, the worries from his head.  
"Wow..." Tom gasped, struggling to catch his breath as his eyes scanned the form before him. "You...you look sensational."  
Kate instantly blushed as expected, her eyes falling to her hands as she lifted her dress a bit off the ground. "Really? I wasn't sure..."  
"Stop. Do you really have to ask?" Tom responded with a chuckle. He couldn't stop staring at her. From the halo-like crown to the blush pink flats on her feet. She looked every bit the Shakespearean angel she was playing that evening.  
Kate smiled. "Well, you don't look so bad yourself there, Romeo."  
"Well, thank you," Tom replied, looking down at his armor. "All thanks to you, though."  
"Mm, no," Kate argued. "You had that face before I came along.  
Tom's smiled could have illuminated the dark night sky awaiting them. Kate came toward him and he felt her hand brush against his. Accidental or not, it didn't matter, he took his cue to intertwine their fingers. "I have a sinking feeling it's going to be the best New Year's Eve I've had in a while."  
"Last year's was all right."  
Tom snickered. "Right. I watched you kiss a man I absolutely hated. Wasn't real great for me."  
"So is that what this summer was about? Retribution then?"  
"Not a bit," Tom refused, waving his head back and forth. His eyes wandered downward, looking at their interwoven fingers, perfectly fit together like a puzzle. He softly ran his thumb back and forth over hers. "Can we not talk about that tonight? I know, at some point, we really have to...to move on and all...but I would really like if we just focused on this tonight. On us, our future."  
Kate's smile was warm and bright. "Of course, darling."  
"Good," Tom said, a smile tugging up the corners of his mouth. He rolled his lips over his teeth before dipping his head, intent on planting a kiss on the dark purple lips in front of him.  
"I'm ready!" Dana exclaimed, bouncing into the room. It very quickly became obvious she had interrupted, by not only the startled look on Kate's face but the disappointment all over Tom's. "Whoops. Sorry."  
Kate chuckled. "It's fine. We should get going." She grabbed her jacket from a kitchen stool and her gold clutch from the counter. "Come on, Romeo. We've got a ball waiting."  
Tom, however, could not take his eyes from Dana's peculiar costume: a brown bodysuit with strategically placed patches of faux fur, a tail and an eared headband. "Hold on a minute. Are you...are you a dog?"  
"Yup. Let's go."  
"I'm gonna need a bit more information here..."  
"It'll make sense when you see Nik."  
Kate looked up at Tom as she took his hand once more. "I'm kind of scared to ask."  
"You and me both." 

He wasn't sure whether it was the clack of the ruby red stripper heels or the fact that Nik actually made an incredibly gorgeous woman but Tom was stunned speechless. Which was alright, because Kate was positively shrieking with excitement.  
"OH MY GOD!" she screamed. "Are you fucking kidding me?! You look incredible!"  
Nik laughed and did a full spin. "What can I say? I can pull of gingham."  
"No shit you can!" Kate agreed. Nik stood there as Dorothy Gale and suddenly Dana's brown dog costume made complete sense. Kate couldn't get enough of it. She'd seen Nik in drag a good number of times throughout their friendship but this took the cake. Or rather the entire bakery. Nik was the sparkliest, most done up Dorothy she'd ever seen, in London or Oz. "Nik, seriously, you look fantastic."  
"Thank you, my darling. And you look heavenly as well. No pun intended," Nik snickered. He looked over at Tom, still silently taking it all in. "You've never seen me in drag, have you Romeo?"  
"Nope. No I have not," Tom laughed.  
"He's been invited, he just never shows," Dana stated.  
"I've always been busy," Tom corrected. "But this...this is one hell of a first time. I wouldn't have even recognized you if it wasn't for Kate's screams."  
"Well darling, with me, you should always expect the unexpected."  
"Obviously."  
"Alright, petals. Pause your adoration, we need drinks. And a cheers for me finally being done with this fucking party to enjoy it."  
"Lead the way," Dana mumbled. "I'm gonna need a whole bottle after sharing a car with these two."  
"Oh shut up," Kate commanded as the costumed quartet headed for the bar. "We haven't even done anything."  
"He's been giving you fuck me eyes since he walked in the damn door."  
Kate looked up at Tom who just sort of shrugged. "He has not!" she exclaimed, trying to conceal her laughter.  
"He has so."  
Tom just shook his head and laughed. This was going to be a night for the books. 

"Is he just going to mount her right here and now? Sweet Jesus," Dana sighed heavily before throwing down the shot of tequila on the table before her. For most of the night, the four friends had been dancing all together, but as Dana needed a break and another drink, now it was just Tom and Kate and they were getting quite friendly to Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You."  
Nik chuckled and rolled his made up eyes. "You a bit jealous there, Toto? They've always been like that. It's nothing new."  
"No, it's not. And I'm not jealous," Dana insisted. "I'm worried. Supposedly he's really into her this time and not just drunk and shagging and that looks like drunk and shagging to me."  
"I thought that was a college extracurricular..."  
Dana sighed again, this time louder and heavier. "Apparently they were fucking before he met you know who. I mean like RIGHT before. I'm talking screwed Kate, hopped on a plane and then REALLY screwed Kate."  
"You're fucking kidding me," Nik said with a disbelieving laugh. He looked up at the couple on the dance floor, watching as Tom's hands ran over the girl's hips. "How in the hell did we not know that? Kate tells me everything."  
"They didn't want us to know," Dana said with a shrug. There was a momentary pause. She wasn't usually one to be so protective, or at least not vocally so, but she was concerned and she knew Nik would understand. "I adore Tom. I do..."  
"Honey who doesn't?"  
"But do you trust him?"  
Nik thought a moment and took a deep breath. "Well, I know he cares about her. And I know how insanely nervous he was after last night, so if you mean do I believe that how he's feeling is genuine, then yes. I absolutely do. Unfortunately, us trusting him doesn't really make a difference. She has to. And...at least for the time being, she seems quite content."  
"Nik, if he hurts her again..."  
"Alright, Toto. I know, I know," Nik soothed, pulling his petite date into his arms. "I'll talk to him. Would that make you feel better? If I put the fear of god in him?"  
"Yes."  
"Well then I will." 

Tom leaned up against the tall table the group had claimed as home base and just watched. Watched the crowd around him, all the different costumes, watched the bartenders bustling to keep up with the drink demand, the waiters walking around with appetizers, but mostly he watched his date, now out on the floor with Dana, dancing and singing along to Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance."  
"Hey handsome."  
Tom looked back over his shoulder as Nik approached. "Well hey there, gorgeous. Lookin for a date?"  
Nik's smiled faded. "Are you saying I look like a hooker?"  
"What?! No! No! God no!" Tom cried.  
"Relax, Hollywood, I'm joking," Nik laughed, giving Tom a playful nudge. He cozied up next to him at the table and followed Tom's gaze back out onto the girls on the dance floor. "Kate seems to be having the time of her life."  
Tom smiled broadly. "Yeah. Yeah I think she is," he agreed. "I love it."  
"Looks like. You got your head all figured out now?"  
Tom, without hesitation nodded. "Yeah. I absolutely do."  
"You're sure? Cuz from what I hear, last time she thought you were sure didn't end up so well."  
Tom looked back at Nik, his smile gone and now replaced by a look of confusion. "What are you talking about?"  
"Let's go outside," Nik stated, jerking his head to a nearby terrace door. Tom grabbed his drink and followed.  
The night was chilly and there was a light snowfall, but London was alive. Even forty one floors in the air, the lights and sounds of a busy New Year's Eve floated through the air. It was an incredible view and Tom was awestruck, but not enough to miss what Nik was currently preparing to do.  
"Okay, lay it on me," Tom sighed. "You're pretty much the only one who hasn't."  
Nik chuckled. "I'm not trying to jump all over you, Tom. I'm really not..."  
"Go ahead. I know I deserve it. Trust me, I've thought about little else in the last eight months. The fight, the silence, breaking her heart into shards, I get it. I'm slime."  
"No one thinks that..."  
"Could've fooled me," Tom interrupted. "How do you even know about... us...before? We were really careful."  
"Apparently Kate told Dana..."  
"And Dana told you. Great. I now look even worse," Tom groaned and ran his hands over his face. "Okay, look, I know I have habitually made a real mess out of things. I know how much I hurt her and myself, but I swear to you, it's different this time. I'm totally in, Nik. I want her. I want...everything in life with her. I'm not going to mess this up again."  
"Good, because if you do...she likely won't be the only one you lose. I think I can speak for Dana and myself when I say this is it. I can't watch you play with her heart anymore, Tom."  
"I'm not, Nik," Tom stated firmly. "Jesus. I can only say it so many ways."  
"Maybe not now, but just hours before the blonde bombshell..."  
"Just stop!" Tom exclaimed pleadingly. "I really, really don't want to talk about her anymore. She has nothing to do with what's happening here and now. She had nothing to do with what happened then. That's all on me. Not to mention, it wasn't HOURS. It was...a month at least, okay? I'm not quite that big of an asshole. I genuinely had no idea Kate would even care. I know how utterly ridiculous that sounds now, but it's the truth. I never in a million years thought that it would even be that big of deal and I certainly didn't know exactly what was going to happen. It was just dancing at a fucking party and everything that came after that was as surprising to me as it was to you. Fuck, maybe it all happened as fast as it did because I was trying to numb the fact that I really wanted Kate. I don't know. I really don't and I probably never will, but I'm not ignoring it anymore. I love her, Nik. I always have and I always will and god willing she still feels the same."  
"So then what's the end game?"  
Tom scoffed and looked into the sky, tossing his arms into the air and allowing them to slap his legs on the way down. "What do you want me to say here, Nik? To be happy? To be in love and to make up for every shitty thing I've ever done to her? Eventually to get married and have kids, I suppose."  
"You want to marry her?"  
"Yeah! Some day, not right now. It's been a grand total of twenty four hours since I confessed my feelings. Can I maybe get a month or two?"  
"I'm not trying to be pushy, Thomas."  
"I know that, but I'm kind of getting sick of having to explain myself to everyone. Kate, yeah I understand, but in the last week I've been confronted by you and Dana and my sisters and my mom and even Luke earlier today. I love you guys, I do but...the only person I need to answer to is Katherine and she seems to be pretty good with things right now."  
"I'm just saying..."  
"I know what you're saying, Nik. And I genuinely understand it is all out of concern for Katey. And I appreciate that, I do. I love how much you all love her, but you have got to let me do this without forty outside voices chiming in every three seconds. She and I can be confusing enough. We really don't need help there."  
"Okay," Nik said with a single solitary nod. "You're right. You're absolutely right. Just don't break her heart again."  
"I will do everything in my power not to. I promise you."  
"Good," Nik smiled, wrapping an arm around Tom's shoulders. With his heels, Nik almost made Tom look small. They were nearly the same height normally and now there was four extra inches between them. "Come on. It's cold. Go let that girl of yours warm you up."  
Tom laughed as the duo headed back inside. "I think if I touched her right now, she'd either slap me or turn into an ice sculpture."  
"I'd pay to see either, really."  
"Shut up." 

"TEN!" 

Kate stood as close to the window as she could the instant the countdown began. Tom's hand rested on the small of her back, but honestly she was too excited to witness the fireworks from this high in the air to even notice. 

"NINE!"

"EIGHT!" 

Tom was paying no attention to anything but the jubilant girl at his side. It was one of the things he'd always loved most about her. When she was excited or enthralled she had this look that mimicked a child about to have the greatest Christmas or birthday ever imaginable. It was innocent and pure and he'd give anything to see the world through those eyes for just a moment.  
"SEVEN!"

"SIX!"

"FIVE!" 

There was an entire swarm of butterflies growing in the pit of his stomach. Soon...

"FOUR!"

"THREE!" 

He knew what he was about to do but Kate had no idea. He was just hoping to not get slapped in the face in front of a room full of some of the biggest names in Great Britain. 

"TWO!"

"ONE!" 

Kate only saw the first flash of color before Tom tugged her into his arms. But the second his lips hit hers, there were plenty of fireworks of another sort. His hands laid against the curve of her face and at first, it was soft, a gentle peck, held for just a bit longer. But the second Tom realized Kate wasn't objecting, it deepened. Lips parted and tongues dueled in a passionate war that continued far longer than any other kiss in the room. In fact, most of their companions were now staring, but neither Kate nor Tom noticed.  
Kate could feel the smile grow on Tom's face as he pulled away for just a second before returning for a smaller peck. When she was certain he wasn't returning for more, she spoke:  
"Did you just kiss me in front of a room full of people?"  
Tom laughed his trademark "Eheheheh" and pressed his tongue to the back of his teeth. "I do believe I did," he answered, taking her hand in his. "That alright?"  
"I think it's a little late to object now."  
"Probably so," Tom nodded.  
Kate rose to the very tips of her toes and pressed her forehead into his. "Happy New Year," she whispered with an enormous gleaming grin.  
Tom laughed. "Happy New Year," he softly repeated back before his lips met hers once more. Typically he would've balked at the idea of being so affectionate so publicly, but not tonight. Something about this night and this girl made him not care about the crowd around them or what the repercussions may be. Tom Hiddleston was without a shadow of a doubt in love with his very best friend. And he couldn't care less who knew about it.


End file.
